THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  ROSE  OF  PARADISE 


Being  a  detailed  account  of  certain  adventures  that 

happened  to  Captain  "John  Mackra,  in  connection 

with  the  famous  pirate,  Edward  England,  in 

the  year  1720,  off  the  Island  of  Juanna 

in  the  Mozambique  Channel ;  writ 

by  himself,  and  now  for  the 

first  time  published 


BY  HOWARD   PYLE 

AUTHOR  OF 

PEPPER  AND  SALT"  "THE  WONDER  CLOCK"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW   YORK 

HARPER   &   BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN    SQUARE 

1888 


Copyright,  1887,  by  HARPER  £  BROTHERS. 

AU  rigttt  rutrvttt. 


V? 


^ 


TO 

LEWIS  C.  VANDEGRIFT 

£!)is  Dock  10  DciMcateb 

BY  HIS  FRIEND 

THE  AUTHOR 


-7//7C 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


" 'Boat  ahoy!"  I  cried  out,  and  then  levelled 
my  pistol  and  fired Frontispiece 

Mr.  Longways  looked  up  under  his  brown  eyes 

at  me  with  a  very  curious  leer. faces  20 

"  Captain  Mackra"  said  he,  eoldly,  "you  were 
pleased  to  put  upon  me  last  night  a  gross  and 
uncalled-for  insult " "  62 

So  soon  as  they  saw  me  they  fell  to  screaming, 

and  clung  to  one  another "  100 

"  /  am  Captain  yohn  Mackra"  said  I,  and  I 
sat  down  upon  the  gunwale  of  the  boat. ...  "  132 

/  rose  slowly  from  my  chair,  and  stood  with 

my  hand  leaning  upon  the  table "  172 

The  three  fellows  were  brought  aft  to  the 
quarter  -  deck,  where  Captain  Croker  stood, 
just  below  the  rail  of  the  deck  above "  186 

There,  in  the  corner,  I  beheld  the  famous  pi- 
rate, Captain  Edward  England "  212 


THE  ROSE  OF  PARADISE. 


i. 

ALTHOUGH  the  account  of  the  serious 
engagement  betwixt  the  Cassandra  and  the 
two  pirate  vessels  in  the  Mozambique  Chan- 
nel hath  already  been  set  to  print,  the  pub- 
lick  have  yet  to  know  many  lesser  and  more 
detailed  circumstances  concerning  the  mat- 
ter;* and  as  the  above-mentioned  account 
hath  caused  much  remark  and  comment,  I 


*  A  brief  narration  of  the  naval  engagement  be- 
tween Captain  Mackra  and  the  two  pirate  vessels 
was  given  in  the  Captain's  official  report  made  at 
Bombay.  It  appears  in  the  life  of  the  pirate  England 
in  Johnson's  book  :  "  A  Genuine  Account  of  the  Voy- 
ages and  Plunders  of  the  Most  Notorious  Pyrates,  &c." 
London,  1742. 


2  T/ie  Rose  of  Paradise. 

shall  take  it  upon  me  to  give  many  inci- 
dents not  yet  known,  seeking  to  render 
them  neither  in  refined  rhetorick  nor  with 
romantick  circumstances  such  as  are  some- 
times used  by  novel  and  story  writers  to 
catch  the  popular  attention,  but  telling  this 
history  as  directly,  and  with  as  little  verbos- 
ity and  circumlocution,  as  possible. 

For  the  conveniency  of  the  reader,  I  shall 
render  this  true  and  veracious  account  un- 
der sundry  headings,  marked  I.,  II.,  III.,  &c., 
as  seen  above,  which  may  assist  him  in  sep- 
arating the  less  from  the  more  notable  por- 
tions of  the  narrative. 

According  to  my  log — a  diary  or  journal 
of  circumstances  appertaining  to  shipboard 
— it  was  the  nineteenth  day  of  April,  1720, 
when,  I  being  in  command  of  the  East  India 
Company's  ship  Cassandra^  billed  for  Bom- 
bay and  waiting  for  orders  to  sail,  comes 
Mr.  Evans, the  Company's  agent, aboard  with 
certain  sealed  and  important  orders  which 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  j 

he  desired  to  deliver  to  me  at  the  last  min- 
ute. 

After  we  had  come  to  my  cabin  and  were 
set  down,  Mr.  Evans  hands  me  two  pacquets, 
one  addressed  to  myself,  the  other  super- 
scribed to  one  Benjamin  Longways. 

He  then  proceeded  to  inform  me  that  the 
Company  had  a  matter  of  exceeding  import 
and  delicacy  which  they  had  no  mind  to  in- 
trust to  any  one  but  such,  he  was  pleased  to 
say,  as  was  a  tried  and  worthy  servant,  and 
that  they  had  fixed  upon  me  as  the  fitting 
one  to  undertake  the  commission,  which  was 
of  such  a  nature  as  would  involve  the  trans- 
fer of  many  thousand  pounds.  He  further- 
more informed  me  that  a  year  or  two  before, 
the  Company  had'  rendered  certain  aid  to 
the  native  King  of  Juanna,  an  island  lying 
between  Madagascar  and  the  east  coast  of 
Africa,  at  a  time  when  there  was  war  be- 
twixt him  and  the  king  of  an  island  called 
Mohilla,  which  lyeth  coadjacent  to  the  other 
country;  that  I  should  make  Juanna  upon 


4  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

my  voyage,  and  that  I  should  there  receive 
through  Mr.  Longways,  who  was  the  Com- 
pany's agent  at  that  place,  a  pacquet  of  the 
greatest  import,  relating  to  the  settlement 
of  certain  matters  betwixt  the  East  India 
Company  and  the  king  of  that  island.  Con- 
cluding his  discourse,  he  further  said  that 
he  had  no  hesitation  in  telling  me  that  the 
pacquet  which  I  would  there  receive  from 
Mr.  Longways  concerned  certain  payments 
due  the  East  India  Company,  and  would,  as 
he  had  said  before,  involve  the  transfer  of 
many  thousand  pounds ;  from  which  I  might 
see  what  need  there  was  of  great  caution 
and  circumspection  in  the  transaction. 

"  But,  sir,"  says  I,  "  sure  the  Company  is 
making  a  prodigious  mistake  in  confiding  a 
business  of  such  vast  importance  as  this  to 
one  so  young  and  so  inexperienced  as  I." 

To  this  Mr.  Evans  only  laughed,  and  was 
pleased  to  say  that  it  was  no  concern  of  his, 
but  from  what  he  had  observed  he  thought 
the  honorable  Company  had  made  a  good 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  5 

choice,  and  that  of  a  keen  tool,  in  my  case. 
He  furthermore  said  that  in  the  pacquet 
which  he  had  given  to  me,  and  which  was 
addressed  to  me,  I  would  find  such  detailed 
instructions  as  would  be  necessary,  and  that 
the  other  should  be  handed  to  Mr.  Long- 
ways, and  was  an  order  for  the  transfer 
above  spoken  of. 

Soon  after  this  he  left  the  ship,  and  was 
rowed  ashore,  after  many  kind  and  compla- 
cent wishes  for  a  quick  and  prosperous  voy- 
age. 

It  may  be  as  well  to  observe  here  as  else- 
where within  this  narrative  that  the  Com- 
pany's written  orders  to  me  contained  little 
that  Mr.  Evans  had  not  told  me,  saving  only 
certain  details,  and  the  further  order  that 
that  which  the  agent  at  Juanna  should 
transfer  to  me  should  be  delivered  to  the 
Governor  at  Bombay,  and  that  I  should  re- 
ceive a  written  receipt  from  him  for  the 
same.  Neither  at  that  time  did  I  know  the 
nature  of  the  trust  that  I  was  called  upon 


6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

to  execute,  save  that  it  was  of  great  import, 
and  that  it  involved  money  to  some  mightily 
considerable  amount. 

The  crew  of  the  Cassandra  consisted  of 
fifty-one  souls  all  told,  officers  and  ordinary 
seamen.  Besides  these  were  six  passengers, 
the  list  of  whom  I  give  below,  it  having  been 
copied  from  my  log-book  journal : 

Captain  Edward  Leach  (of  the  East  India 
Company's  service). 

Mr.  Thomas  Fellows  (who  was  to  take  the 
newly  established  agency  of  the  Company 
at  Cuttapore). 

Mr.  John  Williamson  (a  young  cadet). 

Mrs.  Colonel  Evans  (a  sister-in-law  of  the 
Company's  agent  spoken  of  above). 

Mistress  Pamela  Boon  (a  niece  of  the  Gov- 
ernor at  Bombay). 

Mistress  Ann  Hastings  (the  young  lady's 
waiting-woman). 

Of  Mistress  Pamela  Boon  I  feel  extreme 
delicacy  in  speaking,  not  caring  to  make  pub- 
lick  matters  of  such  a  nature  as  our  subse- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  7 

quent  relations  to  one  another.  Yet  this 
much  I  may  say  without  indelicacy,  that  she 
was  at  that  time  a  young  lady  of  eighteen 
years  of  age,  and  that  her  father,  who  had 
been  a  clergyman,  having  died  the  year  be- 
fore, she  was  at  that  time  upon  her  way  to 
India  to  join  her  uncle,  who,  as  said  above, 
was  Governor  at  Bombay,  and  had  been  left 
her  guardian. 

Nor  will  it  be  necessary  to  tire  the  reader 
by  any  disquisition  upon  the  other  passen- 
gers, excepting  Captain  Leach,  whom  I  shall 
have  good  cause  to  remember  to  the  very 
last  day  of  my  life. 

He  was  a  tall,  handsome  fellow,  of  about 
eight-and-twenty  years  of  age,  of  good  natu- 
ral parts,  and  of  an  old  and  honorable  family 
of  Hertfordshire.  He  was  always  exceed- 
ingly kind  and  pleasant  to  me,  and  treated 
me  upon  every  occasion  with  the  utmost 
complacency,  and  yet  I  conceived  a  most 
excessive  dislike  for  his  person  from  the 
very  first  time  that  I  beheld  him,  nor,  as 


8  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

events  afterwards  proved,  were  my  instincts 
astray,  or  did  they  mislead  me  in  my  senti- 
ments, as  they  are  so  apt  to  do  upon  similar 
occasions. 

After  a  voyage  somewhat  longer  than 
usual,  and  having  stopped  at  St.  Helena, 
which  hath  of  late  been  one  of  our  stations, 
we  sighted  the  southern  coast  of  Madagas- 
car about  the  middle  of  July,  and  on  the 
eighteenth  dropped  anchor  in  a  little  bay 
on  the  eastern  side  of  the  island  of  Juanna, 
not  being  able  to  enter  into  the  harbor 
which  lyeth  before  the  king's  town  because 
of  the  shallowness  of  the  water  and  the  lack 
of  a  safe  anchorage,  which  is  mightily  nec- 
essary along  such  a  treacherous  and  dan- 
gerous coast.  In  the  same  harbor  we  found 
two  other  vessels — one  the  Greenwich,  Cap- 
tain Kirby,  an  English  ship ;  the  other  an 
Ostender,  a  great,  clumsy,  tub-shaped  craft. 

I  was  much  put  about  that  I  could  get 
no  nearer  to  the  king's  town  than  I  then 
was,  it  being  some  seven  or  eight  leagues 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  9 

away  around  the  northern  end  of  the  island. 
I  was  the  more  vexed  that  we  could  not 
well  come  to  it  in  boats,  other  than  by  a 
long  reach  around  the  cape  to  the  north- 
ward, which  would  increase  the  journey  to 
wellnigh  thirty  miles.  Besides  all  this,  I 
was  further  troubled  upon  learning  from 
Captain  Kirby  of  the  Greenwich  that  the 
pirates  had  been  very  troublesome  in  these 
waters  for  some  time  past.  He  said  that 
having  been  ashore  soon  after  he  had  come 
to  that  place,  in  search  of  a  convenient  spot 
to  take  in  water,  he  had  found  fourteen  pi- 
rates that  had  come  in  their  canoes  from 
the  Mayotta,  where  the  pirate  ship  to  which 
they  belonged,  viz.,  the  Indian  Queen,  two 
hundred  and  fifty  tons,  twenty-eight  guns, 
and  ninety  men,  commanded  by  Captain 
Oliver  de  la  Bouche,  bound  from  the  Guinea 
coast  to  the  East  Indies,  had  been  bulged 
and  lost. 

I  asked  Captain  Kirby  what  he  had  done 
with  the  rogues.     He  told  me,  nothing  at 


io  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

all,  and  that  the  less  one  had  to  do  with 
such  fellows  the  better.  At  this  I  was  vast- 
ly surprised,  and  that  he  had  taken  no  steps 
to  put  an  end  to  such  a  nest  of  vile,  wicked, 
and  bloody-minded  wretches  when  he  had 
it  so  clearly  in  his  power  to  take  fourteen 
of  them  at  once ;  more  especially  as  he 
should  have  known  that  if  they  got  away 
from  that  place  and  to  any  of  their  compan- 
ions they  would  bring  the  others  not  only 
about  his  ears,  but  of  every  other  craft  that 
might  be  lying  in  the  harbor  at  the  time. 
Something  to  this  effect  I  said,  whereat  he 
flew  into  a  mighty  huff,,  and  said  that  if  I 
had  seen  half  the  experience  that  he  had 
been  through  I  would  not  be  so  free  in  my 
threats  of  doing  this  or  that  to  a  set  of 
wretches  no  better  than  so  many  devils 
from  hell,  who  would  cut  a  man's  throat 
without  any  scruples  either  of  fear  or  re- 
morse. 

To  all  this  I  made  no  rejoinder,  for  the 
pirates  were  far  enough  away  by  this  time, 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  n 

and  I  was  willing  to  suppose  that  Captain 
Kirby  had  done  what  he  judged  to  be  best 
in  the  matter.  Yet  the  getting  away  of 
those  evil  wretches  brought  more  trouble 
upon  me  than  had  happened  in  all  my  life 
before. 

But,  as  was  said  before,  I  was  in  a  pretty 
tub  of  pickle  with  all  those  things ;  for  I 
could  not  bring  my  ship  to  anchor  in  any 
reasonable  distance  of  the  king's  town,  nor 
could  I  leave  her  and  go  on  such  a  journey 
as  would  take  a  day  or  more,  lest  the  pirates 
should  come  along  in  my  absence.  Neither 
did  I  like  to  send  any  of  the  officers  under 
me  to  execute  the  commission,  it  being  one 
of  such  exceeding  delicacy  and  secrecy.  At 
this  juncture,  and  all  of  my  passengers 
knowing  that  we  could  not  leave  that  place 
till  I  had  communicated  certain  papers  to 
the  Company's  agent  at  the  king's  town, 
comes  Captain  Leach  to  me  and  volunteers 
to  deliver  the  pacquet  addressed  to  Mr. 
Longways.  At  first  I  was  but  little  inclined 


12  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

to  accept  of  his  complacency,  but  having  a 
secret  feeling  that  I  might  be  wronging 
him  by  my  prejudice  against  him,  I  deter- 
mined to  give  second  thought  to  the  mat- 
ter before  I  hastily  declined  his  offer  of  aid. 
Indeed,  I  may  truthfully  say  I  would  have 
felt  more  inclined  to  refuse  his  assistance  if 
I  had  entertained  a  more  high  opinion  of 
his  person.  As  it  was,  I  could  see  no  rea- 
son for  not  accepting  his  offer ;  he  was  re- 
garded everywhere  as  a  man  of  rectitude 
and  of  honor,  and  I  had  no  real  grounds  to 
impeach  this  opinion;  so  the  end  of  the 
business  was  that  I  accepted  his  aid  with 
the  best  face  that  I  was  able  to  command, 
though  that  was  with  no  very  good  grace, 
and  gave  him  leave  to  choose  ten  volunteers 
as  a  boat's  crew  for  the  expedition. 


II. 

(THE  reader  will  be  pleased  to  observe 
that,  in  pursuance  of  the  plan  above  indi- 
cated, I  here  begin  a  second  part  or  chap- 
ter of  my  narrative,  the  first  dealing  with 
our  voyage  out  as  far  as  the  island  of  Juan- 
na,  and  matters  of  a  kindred  nature,  whilst 
the  following  relates  to  an  entirely  different 
subject,  namely,  the  nature  of  the  trust  im- 
posed upon  me,  mention  only  of  which  has 
heretofore  been  made.) 

I  do  not  now  nor  ever  have  believed  that 
Captain  Leach  had  any  other  designs  in  of- 
fering to  execute  my  commission  than  that 
of  seizing  so  excellent  an  opportunity  to  see 
a  strange  country  and  people  after  a  long 
and  tiresome  voyage  upon  the  sea.  Never- 
theless, my  allowing  him  to  go  was  one  of 
the  greatest  mistakes  in  all  of  my  whole  life, 


i^  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

and  cost  me  dearly  enough  before  I  had  re- 
deemed it. 

The  expedition  under  him  was  gone  for 
three  days,  at  the  end  of  which  time  he  re- 
turned, in  company  with  a  great  canoe  man- 
ned by  a  crew  of  about  twenty  tall,  strap- 
ping black  fellows,  and  with  two  or  three 
sitting  in  the  stern-sheets  of  the  craft,  be- 
decked with  feathers  and  beads,  whom  I 
knew  to  be  chiefs  or  warriors. 

In  the  Cassandra  s  boat  was  a  stranger 
who  sat  beside  Captain  Leach,  talking  very 
gayly,  and  who  I  knew  could  be  none  other 
than  Mr.  Longways,  the  Company's  agent. 

So  soon  as  the  Cassandra  s  boat  had  come 
alongside  he  skipped  up  the  side  like  a  mon- 
key, and  gave  me  a  very  civil  bow  immedi- 
ately his  feet  touched  the  deck,  which  I  re- 
turned with  all  the  gravity  I  was  able  to 
command. 

Mr.  Longways  was  a  lean,  slim  little  man, 
and  was  dressed  with  great  care,  and  in  the 
very  latest  fashion  that  he  could  obtain; 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  15 

from  which,  and  his  polite,  affected  manners 
and  grimaces,  I  perceived  that  he  rarely  had 
the  opportunity  of  coming  upon  board  of  a 
craft  where  there  were  ladies  as  passengers. 

After  Mr.  Longways  came  Captain  Leach, 
and  after  him  the  three  great,  tall,  native 
chiefs,  half  naked,  and  with  hair  dressed  af- 
ter a  most  strange,  curious  fashion.  At 
first  they  would  have  prostrated  themselves 
at  my  feet,  but  I  prevented  them ;  where- 
upon they  took  my  hand  and  set  it  upon 
their  heads,  which  was  anything  but  pleas- 
ant, their  hair  being  thick  with  gums  and 
greases. 

I  presently  led  the  way  to  my  cabin,  the 
chiefs  following  close  at  our  heels,  and  Mr. 
Longways  walking  beside  me,  grimacing 
like  a  little  old  monkey  in  a  vastly  affected 
manner.  Nor  could  I  forbear  smiling  to 
see  how  he  directed  his  observations  tow- 
ards the  ladies,  and  more  especially  Mis- 
tress Pamela,  who  stood  at  the  rail  of  the 
deck  above. 


1 6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

Mr.  Longways  carried  in  his  hand  a 
strong  iron  despatch-box,  about  the  bigness 
of  those  used  by  the  runners  at  the  Bank, 
and  so  soon  as  we  had  come  into  my  cabin 
he  clapped  it  down  upon  the  table  with  a 
great  noise. 

"  There  !"  says  he,  fetching  a  deep  sigh ; 
"  I,  for  one,  am  glad  to  be  quit  of  it." 

"  Why,"  says  I,  "  Mr.  Longways,  is  there 
then  so  much  in  the  little  compass  of  that 
box?" 

"  Indeed  yes,"  says  he ;  "  enough  to  make 
you  and  me  rich  men  for  our  lives." 

"  I  wonder,  then,"  says  I,  laughing,  "  that 
you  should  bring  it  so  easily  to  me,  when 
you  might  have  made  off  with  it  yourself, 
and  no  one  the  wiser." 

"  No,  no,"  says  he,  quite  seriously,  with- 
out taking  my  jest,  and  jerking  his  head 
towards  the  black  chiefs,  who  had  squatted 
down  upon  their  hams  nigh  to  the  table — 
"  No,  no.  Our  friends  yonder  have  had 
their  eyes  on  me  sharply  enough,  though 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  77 

they  do  not  understand  one  single  word 
that  we  are  saying  to  one  another." 

While  we  had  been  conversing  I  had 
fetched  out  a  decanter  of  port  and  five 
glasses,  and  had  poured  out  wine  for  all 
hands,  which  the  black  men  drank  with  as 
great  pleasure  as  Mr.  Longways  and  myself. 

After  Mr.  Longways  had  finished,  he 
smacked  his  lips  and  set  down  his  glass 
with  a  great  air.  "  And  now,"  says  he,  with 
a  comical  grimace  of  vanity  and  self-impor- 
tance, "  let  us  to  business  without  loss  of 
more  time.  First  of  all,  I  have  to  ask  you, 
sir,  do  you  know  what  all  this  treasure  is 
for?" 

I  told  him  yes ;  that  Mr.  Evans  had  in- 
formed me  that  it  was  as  payment  for  cer- 
tain aid  which  the  East  India  Company  had 
rendered  to  the  king  of  that  country. 

"And  how,"  says  he,  very  slowly,  and 
cocking  his  head  upon  one  side — "  and  how 
do  you  think  our  King  Coffee  is  to  make 
such  payments  ?  By  bills  upon  the  Bank 


1 8  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

of  Africa  ?  No,  no.  The  treasure  is  all  in 
this  box,  every  farthing  of  it ;  and  I,  sir,  have 
been  chosen  by  the  honorable  East  India 
Company  to  have  sole  and  entire  charge  of 
it  for  more  than  two  weeks  past."  Here 
he  looked  at  me  very  hard,  as  though  he 
thought  I  would  have  made  some  remark 
upon  what  he  had  told  me;  but  as  I  said 
nothing  he  presently  resumed  his  discourse, 
after  his  own  fashion.  "  I  see,"  says  he, 
"  that  you  do  not  appreciate  the  magnitude 
of  the  trust  that  hath  been  imposed  upon 
me.  I  shall  show  you,  sir."  And  without 
more  ado  he  fetched  up  a  bunch  of  keys 
out  of  his  pocket.  He  looked  at  them 
one  after  another  until  he  found  one  some- 
what smaller  than  the  rest,  and  with  very 
curiously  wrought  guards.  "  Look  at  this," 
says  he ;  "  there  are  only  three  in  the  world 
like  it.  I  hold  one,  King  Coffee  the  other, 
and  the  Governor  of  Bombay  the  third." 
So  saying,  he  thrust  the  key  into  the  lock 
of  the  despatch-box. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  19 

'•  Stop  a  bit,  sir,"  said  I,  very  seriously, 
and  laying  my  hand  on  his  arm.  "  Have 
you  very  well  considered  what  you  are  do- 
ing ?  Mr.  Evans,  the  Company's  agent,  said 
nothing  to  me  concerning  the  nature  of  the 
trust  that  was  to  be  imposed  upon  me  fur- 
ther than  it  was  of  very  great  value;  and 
without  you  have  received  instructions  to 
tell  me  further  concerning  this  business,  I 
much  misdoubt  that  the  Company  intended 
me  to  be  further  informed  as  to  its  nature." 

"  Why,  look'ee,  Captain  Mackra,"  says  he, 
testily,  "  Tom  Evans  is  one  man  and  I  am 
another,  and  I  tell  you  further  that  I  am  as 
important  an  agent  as  he,  even  though  he 
does  live  in  London  and  I  in  this  outrageous 
heathen  country.  Even  if  I  had  not  intend- 
ed showing  you  this  treasure  before,  I  would 
show  it  to  you  now,  for  I  do  not  choose  that 
anybody  should  think  that  Tom  Evans  is  a 
man  of  more  importance  than  I."  So  saying, 
and  without  more  ado,  he  gave  a  quick  turn 
to  the  key,  and  flung  back  the  lid  of  the  box. 


2O  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  happened  just  then  to  glance  at  the 
three  chiefs,  and  saw  that  they  were  watch- 
ing us  as  a  cat  watches  at  a  mouse-hole; 
but  so  soon  as  they  saw  me  observing  them 
they  turned  their  eyes  away  so  quickly  that 
I  hardly  felt  sure  that  I  had  seen  them. 

Inside  of  the  box  was  a  great  lot  of  dried 
palm-leaf  fibre  wrapped  around  a  ball  of 
cotton,  which  Mr.  Longways  lifted  very  care- 
fully and  gently.  Opening  this,  he  came 
upon  a  little  roll  of  dressed  skin  like  the 
chamois-leather  such  as  the  jewellers  and 
watch-makers  use,  and  which  was  tied  all 
about  very  carefully  with  a  stout  cord  of 
palm  fibre.  Mr.  Longways  began  labori- 
ously to  untie  the  knot  in  this  cord,  and, 
though  I  cannot  tell  why,  there  was  some- 
thing about  the  whole  business  that  set  my 
heart  to  beating  very  thickly  and  heavily 
within  my  breast. 

Mr.  Longways  looked  up  under  his  brows 
at  me  with  a  very  curious  leer.  "  Did  you  ever 
hear,"  says  he, "  of  The  Rose  of  Paradise  ?" 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  21 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  Then  I'll  show  her  to  you,"  said  he ;  and 
he  began  unwinding  the  cord  from  about 
the  roll  of  soft  leather,  the  folds  of  which  he 
presently  opened.  Then,  as  I  looked  down 
into  his  hand  and  saw  what  lay  within  the 
dressed  skin,  I  was  so  struck  with  amaze- 
ment that  I  could  not  find  either  breath  or 
tongue  to  utter  one  single  word. 


III. 

IT  was  a  ruby,  the  most  beautiful  I  had 
ever  seen,  and  about  the  bigness  of  a  pigeons 

egg* 

At  the  sight  of  this  prodigious  jewel  I 
was  so  disturbed  in  my  spirits  that  I  trem- 
bled as  though  with  an  ague,  while  the 
sweat  started  out  of  my  forehead  in  great 
drops.  "  For  the  love  of,  the  Lord,  put  it 
up,  man !"  I  cried,  so  soon  as  I  could  find 
breath  and  wits. 

There  was  something  in  my  voice  that 
must  have  frightened  Mr.  Longways,  for  he 
looked  mightily  disturbed  and  taken  aback ; 
but  he  presently  tried  to  pass  it  off  for  a 
jest.  "  Come,  come,"  says  he,  as  he  wrapped 
up  the  stone  in  the  soft  leather  again — 
"  come,  come ;  it's  all  between  friend  and 
friend,  and  no  harm  done." 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  23 

But  to  this  I  answered  not  a  word,  but 
began  walking  up  and  down  the  cabin,  so 
affected  by  what  I  had  seen  that  I  could 
neither  recover  my  spirits  nor  regain  my 
composure.  The  more  I  thought  over  the 
business  the  less  I  liked  it ;  for  if  anything 
should  now  happen  to  the  stone,  and  it 
should  be  lost,  every  suspicion  would  fall 
upon  me,  since  I  was  possessed  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  value  of  that  which  was 
given  into  my  charge.  I  could  not  but 
marvel  at  the  foolish  and  magpie  vanity  of 
Mr.  Longways  that  should  thus  lead  him  to 
betray  to  an  unknown  stranger  what  even 
I,  though  so  ignorant  of  the  value  of  such 
gems,  could  easily  perceive  was  a  vast  in- 
calculable treasure  such  as  would  make 
any  one  man  rich  for  a  whole  lifetime ;  and 
even  to  this  very  day  it  is  a  matter  of  ad- 
miration to  me  why  the  East  India  Com- 
pany should  have  put  such  a  man  in  a 
place  of  important  trust,  the  only  reason 
that  I  can  assign  being  that  no  better  man 


2$.  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

could  be  found  to  take  the  agency  in  that 
place. 

"  Look'ee,"  said  I,  turning  to  him  sudden- 
ly, "  have  you  told  of  this  jewel,  this  Rose 
of  Paradise,  to  any  one  else  ?" 

"  Why — "  says  he ;  and  then  he  stopped, 
and  began  gnawing  his  nether  lip  in  a  pee- 
vish fashion. 

"  Come,  come,"  says  I,  "  speak  out  plain, 
Master  Longways,  for  this  is  no  time  for 
dilly-dallying." 

"  Well,"  says  he,  blurting  out  his  words, 
"  I  did  say  something  of  it  to  Captain 
Leach,  who,  I  would  have  you  know,  is  a 
gentleman,  and  a  man  of  honor  into  the 
bargain." 

"And  tell  me,"  said  I,  paying  no  atten- 
tion to  his  braggadocio  air,  "  did  you  show 
the  stone  to  him  also  ?" 

He  looked  up  and  down,  as  though  not 
knowing  what  to  say. 

"  Come,  come,  sir,"  said  I,  sternly,  after 
waiting  for  a  moment  or  two  and  he  not 


T/ie  Rose  of  Paradise.  25 

answering  me  —  "  come,  come,  sir,  I  should 
like  to  have  an  answer,  if  you  please.  You 
will  recollect  that  this  trust  now  concerns 
not  only  you,  but  also  myself,  and  if  any- 
thing happens  to  the  jewel  I  will  be  called 
upon  to  answer  for  it  as  well  as  yourself ; 
so,  as  I  said,  you  will  answer  my  question." 

"  Why,"  says  he,  "  Master  Captain,  and 
what  if  I  did  ?  Do  you  mean  to  impeach 
the  honor  of  Captain  Leach  ?  I  did  show 
it  to  him  one  day  when  we  stopped  along 
the  beach  for  water,  if  you  must  be  told ; 
but  I  can  promise  you  that  not  another  soul 
but  yourself  has  seen  it  since  I  gave  King 
Coffee  my  written  receipt  for  it." 

I  made  no  more  comment,  but  began 
again  to  walk  up  and  down  the  cabin,  vast- 
ly disturbed  in  my  mind  by  all  that  I  heard. 
Nothing  could  be  gained  by  blaming  the 
poor  fool,  who  all  this  time  sat  watching 
me  with  a  mightily  troubled  and  disquieted 
face.  "  Sir,"  said  I,  at  last,  turning  to  him — 
"  sir,  I  do  not  believe  that  you  know  what  a 


26  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

serious  piece  of  folly  you  have  committed 
in  this  business.  By  rights  I  should  have 
nothing  more  to  do  with  the  matter,  but 
should  leave  you  to  settle  it  with  the  Com- 
pany as  you  choose ;  but  my  instructions 
were  to  deliver  the  stone  at  Bombay,  and  I 
will  undertake  to  do  my  part  to  the  best  of 
my  power.  I  have  nothing  of  blame  to  say 
to  you,  but  I  must  tell  you  plain  that  I  can- 
not have  you  longer  about  my  ship;  I  do 
not  wish  to  order  you  to  leave,  but  I  will  be 
vastly  obliged  to  you  if  you  can  return  to 
the  king's  town  without  longer  stay." 

At  this  address  Mr.  Longways  grew  very 
red  in  the  face.  "  Sir !  sir !"  he  cried,  "  do 
you  dare  to  order  me,  an  agent  of  the  East 
India  Company,  to  leave  one  of  that  Com- 
pany's own  ships  ?" 

"  That,"  said  I,  "  you  must  salt  to  suit 
your  own  taste." 

"  Very  well !"  cried  he  ;  "  give  me  a  re- 
ceipt for  the  stone  and  I'll  go,  though  I  tell 
you  plain  that  the  Company  shall  hear  of 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  27 

the  fashion  in  which  you  have  been  pleased 
to  treat  me." 

I  made  no  further  answer  to  his  words, 
but  sat  down  and  wrote  out  the  receipt, 
specifying,  however,  the  manner  in  which 
The  Rose  of  Paradise  had  been  shown  both 
to  Captain  Leach  and  to  myself. 

For  a  while  Mr.  Longways  hotly  refused 
to  accept  it  in  the  form  in  which  it  was  writ; 
but  finding  that  he  could  get  no  better,  and 
that  he  would  either  have  to  accept  of  it  or 
retain  the  stone  in  his  own  keeping  until 
some  further  opportunity  offered  for  con- 
signing it  to  Bombay,  he  was  finally  fain  to 
take  what  he  could  get,  whereupon  he  folded 
up  the  paper  and  thrust  it  into  his  pocket, 
and  then  left  the  cabin  with  a  vast  show  of 
dignity,  and  without  so  much  as  looking  at 
me  or  saying  a  word  to  me. 

He  and  the  chiefs  got  into  the  great  ca- 
noe, and  rowed  away  whence  they  had  come, 
and  I  saw  no  more  of  him  until  above  a 
week  afterwards,  of  which  I  shall  have  more 
to  say  further  on  in  my  narration. 


IV. 

I  DID  not  go  upon  deck  immediately  after 
Mr.  Longways  had  left  the  cabin,  but  sat 
there  concerned  with  a  great  multitude  of 
thoughts,  and  gazing  absently  at  the  box 
that  held  the  treasure,  and  at  the  empty 
glasses  with  the  dregs  of  the  wine  in  the 
bottom. 

Just  in  front  of  me  was  a  small  looking- 
glass  fastened  against  the  port  side  of  the 
cabin  in  such  position  that  by  merely  rais- 
ing my  eyes  I  could  see  the  cabin  door  from 
where  I  sat. 

In  the  upper  part  of  the  door  was  a  little 
window  of  two  panes  of  glass,  which  opened 
out  under  the  overhang  of  the  poop-deck. 

Though  I  do  not  know  what  it  was,  some- 
thing led  me  to  glance  up  from  where  I  sat, 
and  in  the  glass  I  saw  Captain  Leach  look- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  29 

ing  in  at  that  window  with  a  mightily  strange 
expression  on  his  face.  He  was  not  look- 
ing at  me,  but  at  the  iron  despatch-box  upon 
the  table,  and  I  sat  gazing  at  him  for  about 
the  space  of  eight  or  ten  seconds,  in  which 
time  he  moved  neither  his  glance  nor  his 
person.  Suddenly  he  lifted  his  eyes  and 
looked  directly  into  the  glass,  and  his  gaze 
met  mine.  I  had  thought  that  he  would 
have  been  struck  with  confusion,  and  for  a 
moment  it  did  seem  as  though  his  look  fal- 
tered, but  he  instantly  recovered  himself, 
and  tapped  lightly  upon  the  door,  and  I  bade 
him  come  in  without  moving  where  I  sat. 

He  did  as  he  was  told,  and  sat  down  upon 
the  chair  which  Mr.  Longways  had  occupied 
only  a  few  moments  before.  I  confess  that 
I  was  both  frightened  and  angry  at  rinding 
him  thus,  as  it  were,  spying  upon  me,  so 
that  it  was  a  moment  or  two  before  I  trusted 
myself  to  speak. 

"  Sir,"  said  I  at  last,  "  sure  this  voyage 
hath  been  long  enough  for  you  to  know  that 


jo  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

the  courtesies  of  shipboard  require  you  to 
send  a  message  to  the  captain  to  find  wheth- 
er he  be  disengaged  or  no." 

Captain  Leach  showed  no  emotion  at  my 
reproof.  "  Captain  Mackra,"  said  he,  quiet- 
ly, "  I  do  not  know  what  that  gabbling  fool 
of  an  agent  has  or  has  not  said  to  you,  but 
I  tell  you  plain  he  hath  chosen  to  betray  to 
me  certain  important  matters  concerning 
the  East  India  Company,  and  that  in  yon- 
der despatch-box  is  a  large  ruby,  valued  at 
nigh  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pounds  sterling." 

I  may  confess  that  I  was  vastly  amazed 
at  the  value  of  the  stone,  which  was  far  great- 
er than  I  had  conceived  a  notion  of,  but  I 
strove  to  show  nothing  of  my  sentiments  to 
my  interlocutor. 

"  Well,  sir  ?"  said  I,  looking  him  straight 
in  the  face. 

He  seemed  somewhat  struck  aback  at 
my  manner,  but  he  presently  laughed  light- 
ly. "  You  take  the  matter  with  most  admi- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  31 

rable  coolness,"  said  he;  "far  more  than  I 
would  do  were  I  in  your  place.  But  at  least 
you  will  now  perceive  why  I  chose  rather 
to  come  to  you  of  myself  than  to  send  a 
messenger  to  you  where  a  matter  of  such 
delicacy  was  concerned." 

"Well,  sir?"  said  I. 

Captain  Leach  looked  for  a  moment  or 
two  as  though  at  a  loss  what  next  to  say, 
but  he  presently  spoke  again.  "  I  came  to 
you,"  said  he, "  not  knowing,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, whether  or  no  Mr.  Longways  had  be- 
trayed to  you,  as  he  has  to  me,  the  value  of 
the  trust  imposed  upon  you ;  and  as  I  my- 
self am  now  unfortunately  concerned  in  the 
knowledge  of  this  treasure,  and  so  share  in 
your  responsibility,  I  come  hither  to  discover 
what  steps  you  propose  taking  to  insure  the 
safety  of  the  stone." 

Now  it  hath  come  under  my  observation 
that  if  a  man  be  permitted  to  talk  without 
let  or  stay,  he  will  sooner  or  later  betray 
that  which  lieth  upon  his  mind.  So  from 


j '2  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

the  very  moment  that  Captain  Leach  ut- 
tered his  last  speech  I  conceived  the  dark- 
est and  most  sinister  suspicions  of  his  pur- 
poses ;  nor  from  that  time  did  I  trust  one 
single  word  that  he  said,  or  repose  confi- 
dence in  any  of  his  actions,  but  was  ready 
to  see  in  everything  something  to  awaken 
my  doubts  of  his  rectitude.  Nor  did  these 
sentiments  arise  entirely  from  his  words,  but 
equally  as  much  from  my  having  discovered 
him,  as  it  were,  so  prying  upon  my  privacy. 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  rising  from  my  seat,  "  I  am 
infinitely  obliged  to  you  for  your  kindness 
in  this  affair,  but  as  I  have  at  present  mat- 
ters of  considerable  import  that  demand 
my  closest  attention,  I  must  beg  you  to  ex- 
cuse me." 

Captain  Leach  looked  at  me  for  a  mo- 
ment or  two  as  though  he  had  it  upon  his 
mind  to  say  something  further.  However, 
he  did  not  speak,  but  rising,  delivered  a  very 
profound  bow,  and  left  the  cabin  without 
another  word. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  jj» 

But  there  was  no  gainsaying  the  wisdom 
of  the  advice  which  he  had  given  me  as  to 
concealing  the  treasure.  Accordingly  I  ob- 
tained from  the  carpenter  a  basket  of  tools, 
and,  bearing  in  mind  the  late  visit  with 
which  he  had  favored  me,  having  shaded 
the  little  window  in  the  door  of  my  cabin, 
I  stripped  off  my  coat  and  waistcoat,  and 
after  an  hour  or  so  of  work,  made  shift  to 
rig  up  a  very  snug  little  closet  with  a  hinged 
door,  in  the  bottom  of  my  berth  and  below 
the  mattress,  wherein  I  hid  the  jewel.  After 
that  I  breathed  more  freely,  for  I  felt  that 
the  treasure  could  not  be  discovered  with- 
out a  long  and  careful  search,  the  opportuni- 
ties for  which  were  not  likely  to  occur. 

Although  my  interview  with  Captain 
Leach  might  seem  of  small  and  inconsid- 
erable moment  to  any  one  coolly  reading 
this  narrative  in  the  privacy  of  his  closet, 
yet  coming  to  me  as  it  did  upon  the  heels 
of  my  other  interview  with  Mr.  Longways, 
it  cast  me  into  such  disquietude  of  spirit  as 
3 


34  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  had  not  felt  for  a  long  time.  I  would  have 
heaved  anchor  and  away,  without  losing  one 
single  minute  of  delay,  had  it  been  possible 
for  me  to  have  done  so ;  but  not  a  breath  of 
air  was  stirring,  and  there  was  nothing  for 
it  but  to  ride  at  anchor  where  we  were, 
though,  what  with  the  heat  and  delay,  it  was 
all  that  I  could  do  not  to  chafe  myself  into 
a  fume  of  impatience. 

So  passed  the  day  until  about  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  when  there  happened  a 
certain  thing  that,  had  thunder  and  light- 
ning burst  from  a  clear  sky,  it  could  not 
have  amazed  me  more.  I  being  in  my  cab- 
in at  the  time,  comes  Mr.  Langely,  my  first 
mate,  with  the  strange  news  that  the  look- 
out had  sighted  a  vessel  over  the  point  of 
land  to  the  southward.  I  could  hardly  ac- 
credit what  he  said,  for,  as  above  stated,  not 
a  breath  of  air  was  going.  I  hurried  out  of 
my  cabin  and  upon  deck,  where  I  found  Mr. 
White,  the  second  mate,  standing  at  the 
port  side  of  the  ship,  with  a  glass  in  his 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  35 

hand  directed  a  few  points  west  of  south, 
and  over  a  spit  of  land  which  ran  out  in 
the  channel  towards  that  quarter,  at  which 
place  the  cape  was  covered  by  a  mightily 
thick  growth  of  scrub-bushes,  with  here  and 
there  a  tall  palm-tree  rising  from  the  midst 
of  the  thickets.  Over  beyond  these  I  could 
see  the  thin  white  masts  of  the  vessel  that 
the  lookout  had  sighted.  There  was  no 
need  of  the  glass,  for  I  could  see  her  plain 
enough,  though  not  of  what  nature  she 
might  be.  However,  I  took  the  telescope 
from  Mr.  White's  hands,  and  made  a  long 
and  careful  survey  of  the  stranger,  but  as 
much  to  hide  my  thoughts  as  for  any  satis- 
faction that  I  could  gain ;  for  what  con- 
founded me  beyond  measure  was  that  a 
vessel  should  be  sighted  so  suddenly,  and 
in  a  dead  calm,  where  I  felt  well  assured  no 
craft  had  been  for  days  past.  Nor  was  I 
less  amazed  to  find,  as  I  held  the  stranger 
steadfastly  in  the  circle  of  the  object-glass, 
a  tall  palm-tree  being  almost  betwixt  the 


j6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

Cassandra  and  her,  and  almost  directly  in 
my  line  of  sight,  that  she  was  slowly  and 
steadily  making  way  towards  the  northward, 
and  at  a  very  considerable  angle  with  the 
Gulf  current,  which  there  had  a  set  more  to 
the  westward  than  where  we  lay  at  anchor. 

I  think  that  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  my  pas- 
sengers were  upon  the  poop-deck  at  that 
time,  Captain  Leach  with  a  pocket  field- 
glass  which  he  had  fetched  with  him  from 
England,  and  with  which  he  was  directing 
Mistress  Pamela's  observation  to  the  strange 
craft.  Nearly  all  the  crew  were  also  watch- 
ing her  by  this  time,  and  in  a  little  while 
they  perceived,  what  I  had  seen  from  the 
first,  that  the  vessel  was  by  some  contriv- 
ance making  head  without  a  breath  of  wind, 
and  nearly  against  the  Gulf  current. 

As  for  the  stranger  herself,  so  far  as  I 
could  judge,  seeing  nothing  of  her  hull,  she 
was  a  bark  of  somewhat  less  tonnage  than 
the  Cassandra;  and  the  masts,  which  we 
could  perceive  very  clearly  against  the  clear 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  jy 

sky,  had  a  greater  rake  than  any  I  had  ever 
before  seen. 

I  do  not  know  whether  or  not  it  was  be- 
cause my  mind  was  running  so  much  upon 
the  pirates  and  upon  the  great  treasure 
which  I  had  in  my  keeping,  but  I  am  free 
to  say  that  I  liked  the  looks  of  the  strange 
craft  as  little  as  any  I  had  ever  beheld  in 
my  life,  and  would  have  given  a  hundred 
guineas  to  be  safe  away  from  where  I  was, 
and  with  no  more  favor  than  a  good  open 
sea  and  a  smart  breeze,  for  the  Cassandra 
was  a  first-rate  sailer,  and  as  good  a  ship  as 
any  the  East  India  Company  had  at  their 
docks. 

As  it  was,  we  were  cooped  up  in  what 
was  little  more  than  a  pond,  and  I  did  not 
like  the  looks  of  the  business  at  all. 

"  What  do  you  make  her  out  to  be,  Mr. 
Langely  ?"  said  I,  after  a  bit,  handing  him 
the  glass. 

He  took  a  long  and  careful  look  at  the 
stranger  without  speaking  for  a  while.  By- 


jS  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

and-by  he  said,  without  taking  his  eye  from 
the  glass,  and  as  though  speaking  half 
to  himself,  "She's  making  way  against  the 
current  somehow  or  other." 

"  Yes,"  said  I ;  "  I  saw  that  from  the  first. 
But  what  do  you  make  of  her  ?" 

"  I  can  make  nothing  of  her,"  says  he,  after 
a  little  while. 

"  Neither  can  I,"  I  said ;  "  and  I  like  her 
nc^ne  the  better  for  that." 

Mr.  Langely  took  his  eye  from  the  glass, 
and  gave  me  a  very  significant  look,  where- 
by I  saw  that  he  had  very  much  the  same 
notion  concerning  the  stranger  that  I  my- 
self entertained. 

By  this  time  there  was  considerable  bus- 
tle aboard  the  Greenwich,  which  rode  at 
anchor  not  more  than  a  furlong  or  two  from 
where  we  lay,  and  by  the  gathering  of  the 
men  on  the  forecastle  I  could  see  that  they 
had  sighted  the  craft,  as  we  had  already 
done. 

So  the  afternoon  passed  until  six  o'clock 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  39 

had  come,  against  which  time  the  stranger 
had  almost  come  into  open  sight  beyond 
the  cape  to  the  south,  the  hull  alone  being 
hidden  by  the  low  spit  of  sand  which  formed 
the  extremity  of  the  point. 

That  evening  I  took  my  supper  along 
with  the  passengers,  as  I  had  been  used  to 
do,  for  I  wished  to  appear  unconcerned,  as, 
after  all,  my  suspicions  might  be  altogeth- 
er groundless.  Nevertheless,  I  came  upon 
deck  again  as  soon  as  I  was  able,  and  found 
that  the  stranger  was  now  so  far  come  into 
sight  as  to  show  a  part  of  her  hull,  which 
wras  low,  and  painted  black,  and  was  of  such 
an  appearance  as  rather  to  increase  than  to 
lessen  my  serious  suspicions  of  her  nature. 

I  could  see  there  were  two  whale-boats 
ahead  of  her,  and  it  was  very  plain  to  me  that 
it  was  by  means  of  these  that  the  bark  was 
making  head  against  the  current.  At  first  I 
was  more  than  ever  amazed  at  this,  seeing 
that  the  current  at  that  point  could  not  run 
at  less  than  the  rate  of  two  or  three  knots  an 


40  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

hour,  against  which  two  boats  could  not 
hope  to  tow  a  craft  of  her  size  without  some 
contrivance  to  aid  their  efforts.  Every  now 
and  then  I  could  hear  the  clicking  of  the 
capstan,  as  though  the  vessel  was  heaving 
anchor,  and  led  by  this  sound,  I  after  a  while 
perceived  how  she  was  making  way,  though 
if  I  had  not  seen  the  same  plan  used  in  the 
Strait  of  Malacca  by  the  City  of  Worcester, 
when  I  was  there  in  the  year  '17,  I  much 
misdoubt  whether  I  could  have  so  readily 
discovered  the  design  which  they  were  in 
this  instance  using.  As  it  was,  I  was  not 
long  in  finding  out  what  they  were  about. 

The  two  boats  ahead  of  the  strange  craft 
were  towing  a  square  sail  through  the  water 
by  a  line  fastened  to  the  middle  of  the  same. 
From  all  four  corners  of  this  sail  ran  good 
stout  ropes,  which  were  made  fast  to  the 
anchor  cable  of  the  bark.  The  two  boats 
might  tow  this  square  through  the  water 
easily  enough  by  that  one  line  fastened  to 
the  middle,  because  the  sail  would  then  close 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  41 

and  so  slip  easily  through  the  water ;  but  so 
soon  as  the  bark  began  to  haul  upon  it  from 
all  four  corners  it  spread  out  as  though  filled 
with  wind,  and  so  offered  a  vast  resistance 
to  the  water.  By  this  contrivance  the  bark 
was  making  headway  at  about  the  rate  of  a 
knot  an  hour  against  the  current,  so  that  by 
seven  o'clock  she  was  clear  out  beyond  the 
cape  and  into  the  open  water  beyond. 

At  that  time  the  sun  had  not  yet  gone 
down,  and  the  distant  vessel  stood  out 
against  the  reddish-gray  sky  to  the  east- 
ward, with  all  the  cordage  and  the  masts  as 
sharp  as  so  many  hairs  and  straws  in  the 
red  light  of  the  setting  sun. 

I  was  standing  just  under  the  poop-deck 
at  the  time,  with  the  glass  to  my  eye,  when, 
of  a  sudden,  I  saw  something  black  begin 
rising  from  the  deck  to  the  fore.  There 
was  not  enough  breeze  going  to  spread  it, 
but  I  knew  as  well  as  anything  in  all  of  my 
life  that  it  was  the  "  Black  Roger,"  and  that 
the  white  that  I  could  see  among  the  folds 


42  T/ie  Rose  of  Paradise. 

was  the  wicked  sign  of  the  "  skull  and  cross- 
bones,"  which  those  bloody  and  cruel  wretch- 
es are  pleased  to  adopt  as  the  ensign  of  their 
trade.  Nor  were  we  long  in  doubt  as  to 
their  design,  for  even  as  I  watched  I  saw  a 
sudden  puff  of  white  smoke  go  up  from  her 
side  and  hang  motionlessly  in  the  still  air, 
whilst  a  second  or  two  later  sounded  the  dull 
and  heavy  boom  of  the  distant  cannon,  and  a 
round  shot  came  skipping  across  the  water 
from  wave  to  wave,  though  too  far  away  and 
with  too  poor  aim  to  do  any  damage  from 
that  distance,  which  could  not  have  been 
less  than  two  miles. 

"What  does  that  mean,  captain?"  said 
Mistress  Pamela,  who  stood  with  the  other 
passengers  observing  the  bark  from  the 
poop-deck  above. 

"  A  salute,  madam,"  said  I,  and  so  shut 
my  glass  and  went  into  my  cabin,  where  Mr. 
Langely  presently  joined  me  at  my  request, 
and  where  we  talked  over  this  very  ugly 
piece  of  business  at  our  leisure. 


V. 

IN  those  hot  latitudes,  such  as  Madagas- 
car, the  darkness  cometh  very  sudden  after 
sunset,  and  with  no  long  twilights  such  as 
we  have  in  England,  so  that  within  half  an 
hour  after  the  pirate  had  saluted  us  with  a 
round  shot,  as  told  above,  it  had  passed  from 
daylight  to  night-time,  and  there  being  no 
moon  until  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, it  was  very  dark,  with  an  infinite  quan- 
tity of  stars  shining  most  beautifully  in  the 
sky. 

I  ordered  my  gig  to  be  made  ready,  and 
went  aboard  the  Greenwich,  where  I  found 
Captain  Kirby  suffering  under  the  utmost 
consternation  of  spirits.  He  took  me  straight 
to  his  cabin,  where,  when  we  were  set  down, 
he  fell  to  blaming  himself  most  severely  for 
not  having  clapped  chains  upon  the  fourteen 


44  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

pirates  whom  he  had  found  on  the  island 
upon  his  arrival  at  that  place,  and  who,. it 
was  very  plain  to  see,  had  given  such  infor- 
mation to  their  fellows  as  had  brought  a 
great  number  of  them  down  upon  us. 

So  soon  as  I  was  able  I  checked  him  in 
his  self-reproaches.  "  Come,  come,  Captain 
Kirby,"  says  I, "  'tis  no  time  for  vain  regrets, 
but  rather  to  be  thinking  to  protect  our- 
selves and  those  things  that  we  have  in  trust 
from  these  bloody  wretches,  who  would  strip 
us  of  all." 

So,  after  a  while,  he  quieted  in  some  meas- 
ure, and  the  captain  of  the  Ostender  com- 
ing aboard  about  this  time,  we  made  shift 
betwixt  us  to  settle  some  sort  of  a  plan  for 
mutual  protection. 

According  to  my  suggestions  it  was  de- 
termined to  get  out  warps  upon  the  port 
side  of  all  three  crafts,  which  now  lay  head- 
ing towards  the  south,  because  of  the  set  of 
the  current.  By  means  of  these  warps  the 
vessels  might  be  brought  to  lie  athwart  the 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  45 

channel,  which  was  so  narrow  at  this  place 
that,  should  the  pirate  craft  venture  into  the 
harbor,  she  would  be  raked  by  all  three  in 
turn.  These  matters  being  settled,  I  re- 
turned to  the  Cassandra  again. 

That  night  I  had  but  little  sleep,  but  was 
in  and  out  of  my  cabin  continually.  When- 
ever I  was  upon  the  deck  I  could  hear  the 
"click,  click,  click"  of  the  capstan  aboard 
the  pirate  vessel,  sounding  more  clearly 
through  the  dampness  of  the  night  than  in 
the  daytime.  There  was  still  not  a  breath 
of  air  going,  and  I  thought  it  likely  that  the 
pirate  intended  making  her  way  into  the 
harbor  that  night,  but  about  three  o'clock 
in  the  morning  the  noise  of  working  the 
capstan  ceased,  and  I  fancied  that  I  heard 
a  sound  as  of  dropping  anchor,  though  I 
could  make  out  nothing  through  the  dark- 
ness, even  with  the  night-glass. 

Nor  was  I  mistaken  in  my  surmise  that 
the  pirate  craft  had  come  to  anchor,  for 
when  the  day  broke  I  perceived  that  she  lay 


4.6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

between  two  and  three  miles  away,  just  out- 
side of  the  capes,  and  directly  athwart  the 
channel,  being  stayed  by  warps,  broadside 
on,  as  we  ourselves  were  in  the  harbor,  so 
as  to  rake  any  vessel  that  should  endeavor 
to  come  out,  as  we  might  rake  any  that 
would  endeavor  to  come  in. 

As  this  day  also  was  very  quiet,  with  not 
a  breath  of  wind  stirring,  I  expected  that 
the  pirate  would  open  fire,  though  at  such 
a  long  range.  However,  this  she  did  not 
do,  but  lay  there  as  though  watching  us, 
and  as  though  to  hold  us  where  we  were 
until  some  opportunity  or  other  had  ri- 
pened. And  so  came  the  night  again,  with 
nothing  more  of  note  having  happened  than 
the  day  before. 

Ever  since  we  had  lain  at  this  spot  native 
canoes  (called  by  the  sailors  bumboats)  had 
come  from  the  shore  from  day  to  day,  laden 
with  fruit  and  fresh  provisions,  which  are 
most  delicious,  refreshing  luxuries  after  a 
prolonged  sea -voyage,  such  as  ours  had 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  47 

been.  That  day  they  had  come  as  usual, 
though  there  was  little  humor  for  bartering 
with  them  upon  such  a  serious  occasion. 

However,  I  had  observed,  and  not  with- 
out surprise,  that  Captain  Leach,  though  he 
knew  the  nature  of  the  pirate  craft,  and  the 
serious  situation  in  our  affairs,  appeared  so 
little  affected  by  the  danger  which  threat- 
ened us  that  he  bought  a  lot  of  fresh  fruit, 
as  usual,  and  held  a  great  deal  of  conversa- 
tion with  one  of  the  natives,  who  spoke  a 
sort  of  English  which  he  had  picked  up 
from  our  traders. 

I  had  not  thought  much  of  this  at  the 
time,  although,  as  I  had  observed  before,  it 
was  not  without  surprise  that  I  beheld  what 
he  did ;  beyond  this  I  reckoned  nothing  of 
it,  nor  would  have  done  so  had  not  matters 
of  the  utmost  importance  afterwards  recalled 
it  to  my  attention. 

That  night  I  had  no  more  appetite  for 
sleep  than  the  night  before,  and  finding  lit- 
tle rest  or  ease  in  my  cabin,  was  up  upon 


48  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

deck  for  most  of  the  time.  Though  I  did 
not  choose  just  then  to  hold  conversation 
with  my  passengers,  I  noticed  that  they 
were  all  upon  deck,  where  they  sat  talking 
together  in  low  tones.  As  the  night  ad- 
vanced, however,  they  betook  themselves  to 
their  cabins,  one  after  another,  until  only 
Captain  Leach  was  left  sitting  alone. 

He  remained  there  for  maybe  the  space 
of  half  an  hour,  without  moving  a  hair's- 
breadth,  so  far  as  I  could  see.  At  the  end 
of  about  that  length  of  time,  being  in  a 
mightily  anxious  state,  I  stepped  forward  to 
see  for  myself  that  the  watch  wTas  keeping  a 
sharp  lookout.  I  was  not  gone  for  more 
than  a  minute  or  two,  but  when  I  came  back 
I  saw  that  Captain  Leach  was  no  longer 
where  he  had  been  before;  yet  although  I 
noticed  this  circumstance  at  the  time,  I  gave 
no  more  thought  to  it  than  I  would  upon 
an  ordinary  occasion. 

As  there  was  no  one  on  the  poop,  I  my- 
self went  up  upon  that  deck,  it  being  so 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  49 

much  cooler  there  than  on  the  quarter-deck 
below.  I  took  out  my  pipe  and  filled  it, 
thinking  to  have  a  quiet  smoke,  which  is 
a  most  efficacious  manner  of  soothing  any 
perturbation  or  fermentation  of  spirits.  Just 
as  I  was  about  to  strike  my  flint  for  a  light, 
I  heard  a  noise  under  the  stern-sheets,  as  of 
some  one  stepping  into  a  boat,  and  almost 
immediately  afterwards  a  slight  splash,  as 
of  an  oar  or  a  paddle  dipped  into  the  water. 
I  ran  hastily  to  the  side  of  the  vessel,  and 
looked  astern  and  into  the  water  below. 

Although  the  sky  was  clear,  the  night 
was  excessively  dark,  as  one  may  often  see 
it  in  those  tropical  latitudes ;  yet  I  was  as 
well  assured  that  a  boat  of  some  sort  had 
left  the  ship  as  if  I  had  seen  it  in  broad  day- 
light, because  of  the  phosphorescent  trail 
which  it  left  behind  it  in  its  wake. 

I  had  slipped  a  pistol  into  my  belt  before 

quitting  my  cabin,  and  as  I  hailed  the  boat 

I  drew  it  and  cocked  it,  for  I  thought  that 

the  whole  occurrence  was  of  a  mightily  sus- 

4 


50  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

picious  nature.  As  I  more  than  half  ex- 
pected, I  got  no  answer.  "  Boat,  ahoy !"  I 
cried  out  a  second  time,  and  then,  almost 
immediately,  levelled  my  pistol  and  fired, 
for  I  saw  that  whoever  the  stranger  was, 
he  had  no  mind  to  give  me  an  answer. 

At  the  report  of  the  pistol  both  Mr. 
Langely  and  Mr.  White  came  running  to 
where  I  was,  and  I  explained  the  suspi- 
cious circumstances  to  them,  whereupon 
Mr.  Langely  suggested  that  it  might  have 
been  a  shark  that  I  had  seen,  vast  quanti- 
ties of  which  voracious  animals  dwell  in 
those  and  the  neighboring  waters.  I  did 
not  controvert  what  he  said,  although  I 
knew  beyond  a  doubt  that  it  was  a  craft  of 
some  sort  which  I  had  discovered — possibly 
a  canoe,  for  the  dip  of  the  paddle,  which  I 
had  distinctly  seen  in  the  phosphorescence 
of  the  water,  appeared  first  upon  the  one 
side  of  the  wake  and  then  upon  the  other, 
as  the  blade  was  dipped  into  the  water  from 
side  to  side ;  so  although,  as  I  said,  I  did  not 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  57 

undertake  to  controvert  Mr.  Langely's  opin- 
ion, I  was  mightily  discomposed  in  my  own 
mind  concerning  the  business. 

At  this  time  there  was  a  vast  deal  of  dis- 
turbance aboard  the  Greenwich  and  the  Os- 
tender  because  of  my  hail  and  the  discharge 
of  the  pistol,  which,  however,  soon  quieted 
down  when  they  found  that  nothing  further 
followed  upon  the  alarm. 

I  walked  up  and  down  the  poop-deck  for 
a  great  while,  endeavoring  to  conceive  what 
could  be  the  meaning  of  the  boat,  which 
had  most  undoubtedly  been  lying  under  the 
stern  of  the  Cassandra,  and  how  it  came 
that  the  watch  had  failed  so  entirely  to  dis- 
cover its  arrival.  It  would  not  have  been 
possible  for  an  ordinary  ship's  boat  to  come 
upon  us  so  undiscovered,  for,  as  I  myself 
knew,  the  watch  were  keeping  a  sharper 
lookout  than  usual;  therefore  this  circum- 
stance, together  with  that  which  I  had  above 
observed  concerning  my  opinion  that  the 
craft  had  been  rowed  with  a  paddle,  led  me 


52  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

to  conclude  that  it  was  one  of  the  native 
canoes,  though  I  was  as  far  as  ever  from 
guessing  what  the  object  of  the  visit  had 
been,  or  what  it  portended.  As  I  sat  rumi- 
nating upon  this  subject,  looking  straight 
ahead  of  me,  without  thinking  whither  my 
observation  was  directed,  I  presently  per- 
ceived that  I  was  looking  absently  at  the 
spot  where  Captain  Leach  had  been  sitting 
a  little  while  before.  This  led  me  to  think 
of  him,  and  from  him  of  the  jewel  that  was 
in  my  keeping,  and  of  its  excessive  value. 
Of  a  sudden  it  flashed  into  my  mind,  as 
quick  as  lightning,  what  if  Captain  Leach 
should  have  it  in  his  mind  to  practice  some 
treachery  upon  us  all  ? 

I  may  truly  say  that  this  thought  would 
never  have  entered  my  brains  had  not  the 
circumstance  of  Captain  Leach's  conversa- 
tion with  me  in  my  cabin  tended  to  set  it 
there.  But  no  sooner  had  this  gloomy  sus- 
picion found  place  in  my  mind  than  it  and 
those  troubles  which  had  beset  me  of  late, 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  53 

and  the  loss  of  that  sleep  which  I  had  failed 
to  enjoy  the  night  before,  together  cast  me 
into  such  a  ferment  of  spirits  as  I  hope  I 
may  never  again  experience.  Nor  could  I 
reason  my  mind  out  of  what  I  could  not 
but  feel  might  be  insane  and  unreasonable 
fancyings. 

At  last  I  could  bear  my  uncertainties  no 
longer,  but  went  down  into  the  great  cabin, 
and  so  to  the  door  of  the  berth  which  Cap- 
tain Leach  occupied.  I  knocked  softly  upon 
the  door,  and  then  waited  a  while,  but  re- 
ceived no  answer.  After  that  I  knocked 
again,  and  louder,  but  with  no  better  suc- 
cess than  before.  Finding  I  was  like  to 
have  no  answer  to  my  knocking,  I  tried  the 
door,  and  found  that  it  was  locked. 

My  heart  began  to  beat  at  a  great  rate  at 
all  this ;  but  I  suddenly  bethought  me  that 
perhaps  the  captain  was  a  sound  sleeper 
and  not  easily  roused.  If  this  were  so,  and 
he  were  in  his  cabin,  and  had  locked  the 
door  upon  himself,  I  could  easily  convince 


5^  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

myself  of  the  fact,  for  it  hardly  could  be 
doubted  but  that  the  key  would  be  in  the 
key -hole.  I  drew  out  my  pocket-knife, 
opened  a  small  blade  which  it  contained, 
and  thrust  it  into  the  key-hole.  There  was 
no  key  there! 

This  discovery  acted  upon  my  spirits  in 
such  a  manner  that  a  douse  of  water  could 
not  have  cooled  me  quicker;  for  now  that 
my  worst  suspicions  were  so  far  confirmed 
— for  I  felt  well  assured  that  Captain  Leach 
was  nowhere  aboard  the  ship — my  pertur- 
bation left  me,  and  I  grew  of  a  sudden  as 
calm  as  I  am  at  this  very  moment.  How- 
ever, to  make  matters  more  assured,  I  rapped 
again  upon  the  door  of  the  cabin,  and  this 
time  with  more  vigor  than  before ;  but  al- 
though I  repeated  the  knocking  four  or  five 
times,  I  received  no  answer,  and  so  went  upon 
deck  to  consider  the  matter  at  my  leisure. 

My  first  thought  was  of  the  jewel  in  my 
keeping,  and  that  Captain  Leach  had  made 
off  with  it.  My  cooler  reason  told  me  that 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  55 

this  could  not  be,  I  having  taken  such  ef- 
fectual means  to  hide  it,  as  before  stated. 
Nevertheless,  I  went  to  my  cabin  and  ex- 
amined my  hiding-place  to  set  my  mind 
at  rest,  finding,  as  might  be  expected,  that 
the  jewel  was  safely  there. 

My  first  impulse  was  to  tell  Mr.  Langely 
of  my  suspicions,  but  in  digesting  the  mat- 
ter it  appeared  to  me  best  to  keep  them  to 
myself  for  the  present ;  for  if  I  should,  after 
all,  prove  wrong  in  my  surmise,  it  would 
only  add  to  the  entanglement  to  have  an- 
other involved  in  the  business  before  any- 
thing certain  had  been  discovered;  more- 
over, should  I  observe  sufficient  cause  for 
using  extreme  measures  against  Captain 
Leach,  I  might  easily  arrest  him  at  any 
time,  having  him  entirely  in  my  power. 

Having  settled  this  matter  to  my  own 
satisfaction,  I  determined  to  lie  in  wait  for 
his  return,  and  to  discover  how  he  himself 
would  explain  his  absence. 

I  surmised  that  he  must  have  left  the  ship 


56  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

from  the  boat  which  was  hanging  to  the 
davits  astern,  and  on  inspecting  the  matter, 
found  that  I  was  correct,  and  that  a  stout 
line,  such  as  might  easily  bear  the  weight  of  a 
man,  had  been  lashed  to  one  of  the  falls,  and 
hung  to  within  a  foot  or  two  of  the  water. 
I  was  then  well  assured  that  Captain  Leach 
must  have  clambered  into  the  boat  astern 
whilst  I  had  gone  forward,  as  told  above, 
and  had  dropped  thence  into  the  canoe  by 
means  of  the  line  just  spoken  of.  The  noise 
which  I  had  heard  I  conceived  to  have  been 
caused  by  his  making  a  misstep,  or  by  the 
canoe  rising  with  the  ground -swell  more 
than  he  had  expected. 

Now,  if  he  left  the  ship  in  that  manner, 
of  which,  according  to  my  mind,  there  could 
be  but  little  doubt,  there  was  equal  certain- 
ty that  he  would  return  by  the  same  way ; 
so  I  determined  to  lie  in  watch  for  him 
there,  and  to  tax  him  with  his  absence  so 
soon  as  he  should  come  aboard.  Accord- 
ingly I  laid  myself  down  in  the  boat  astern 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  57 

as  comfortably  as  I  could  contrive,  and 
lighting  my  pipe,  watched  with  all  the  pa- 
tience I  could  command  for  the  return  of 
the  fugitive. 

I  judge  that  I  lay  there  for  the  space 
of  two  or  three  hours,  and  in  all  that 
time  saw  or  heard  nothing  to  arouse  my 
suspicions ;  nor  do  I  believe  that  I  would 
have  discovered  anything  had  I  not  been 
watching  at  that  very  place,  for  so  quiet 
was  Captain  Leach's  return  that  I  heard 
no  sound  of  oars  nor  knew  anything  of  it 
until  I  saw  the  line  that  hung  at  the  davits 
moved  from  below  by  some  one  climbing 
aboard.  I  lay  perfectly  still  and  made  no 
noise  until  he  had  clambered  into  the  boat 
and  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  me. 

"  Well,  sir,"  says  I,  as  quietly  as  I  could 
speak,  "  and  may  I  ask  where  you  have  been 
for  all  this  long  time  ?" 


VI. 

HAD  a  pistol  been  fired  beside  his  head 
he  could  not  have  started  more  violently, 
and  I  had  thought  that  he  would  have  been 
utterly  dumfounded ;  but  he  recovered  him- 
self with  a  most  amazing  quickness. 

"  Why,  Captain  Mackra,"  says  he,  with  a 
laugh,  "  and  is  it  you  that  welcome  me  back 
again,  like  the  prodigal  that  I  am  ?" 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  very  sternly,  "  you  will  be 
pleased  to  answer  my  question,  for  I  tell 
you  plain  that  I  am  in  no  humor  for  jesting 
upon  this  occasion." 

"  And  why  should  I  not  jest  ?"  says  he ; 
"  the  whole  business  is  a  jest  from  first  to 
last.  As  all  this  coil  has  been  made  about 
a  very  simple  piece  of  business,  I  am  forced 
to  tell  what  I  had  not  intended  to  tell,  and 
which  I  am  surprised  that  a  man  of  your 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  59 

feeling  should  urge  another  into  declaring. 
A  man  of  parts,  sir,  may  find  favor  with 
dusky  beauties  as  well  as  with  white;  nor 
can  I  see  what  more  harm  there  may  be  in 
visiting  a  sweetheart  here  than  at  Graves- 
end,  which  I  doubt  not  you  yourself  have 
done,  and  that  more  than  once." 

I  confess  that  I  was  vastly  struck  aback 
at  this  reasonable  answer,  and  began  for  a 
moment  to  misdoubt  that  my  suspicions  of 
the  captain  were  correct.  For  a  while  I 
stood,  not  knowing  what  to  say,  when  of  a 
sudden  certain  circumstances  struck  me  that 
Captain  Leach's  words  had  not  explained. 

"And  why,"  said  I,  "at  a  time  of  such 
anxiety  and  uncertainty,  did  you  not  ask 
permission  to  leave  the  ship?" 

"  I  should  think,"  says  he,  "  a  man  of  deli- 
cacy would  have  no  need  to  ask  such  a  ques- 
tion as  that." 

"  Then  tell  me  this,"  I  cried,  "  why  did  you 
not  direct  your  course  towards  the  land  in- 
stead of  towards  the  open  sea  ?" 


60  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

"  Why,"  says  he,  laughing,  and  answering 
with  the  utmost  readiness,  "  I  thought  of 
nothing  at  all  but  of  getting  away  from  the 
ship  as  fast  as  possible,  seeing  that  some 
hasty  fool  aboard  was  blazing  away  at  me 
with  a  pistol  or  musquetoon,  and  that  if  I 
had  been  picking  my  course  at  the  time  I 
might  have  wound  up  the  business  with  an 
ounce  of  lead  in  my  brains,  instead  of  en- 
joying this  pleasant  conversation  in  such 
good  health." 

All  this  time  we  had  been  standing  with- 
in a  foot  or  two  of  one  another,  I  looking 
him  straight  in  the  face,  though  I  could  see 
nothing  of  it  in  the  darkness.  For  a  mo- 
ment or  two  I  could  make  no  answer,  his 
words  being  so  mightily  plausible ;  and  yet 
I  did  not  believe  a  single  one  of  them,  for 
they  ran  so  smoothly  and  glibly  that  I  could 
not  but  feel  convinced  that  he  had  them 
already  sorted  and  arranged  for  just  such 
an  occasion  as  the  present. 

"Sir,"  said  I,  in  a  low  voice,  for  I  was 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  61 

afraid  lest  my  indignation  should  get  the 
better  of  me,  "  I  tell  you  plain  that,  though 
your  words  are  so  smooth,  I  do  not  believe 
that  which  you  tell  me.  Go  to  your  cabin, 
sir,  and  let  me  tell  you  that  if  I  see  any- 
thing that  may  tend  to  confirm  my  suspi- 
cions of  you,  I  will  clap  you  in  irons,  with- 
out waiting  a  second,  and  as  sure  as  you 
are  a  living  man." 

"  Captain  Mackra,"  said  he,  in  a  voice  as 
quiet  as  that  I  myself  had  used,  "if  ever  I 
come  safely  to  land,  you  shall  answer  to  me 
for  these  words,  sir." 

"  That  as  you  please,"  said  I ;  and  there- 
upon turned  and  left  the  boat,  entering  my 
own  cabin  so  soon  as  I  had  seen  that  Cap- 
tain Leach  had  obeyed  my  orders  by  betak- 
ing himself  to  his. 

I  was  not  thus  quickly  to  see  the  last  of 
this  part  of  the  affair,  for  early  the  next 
morning,  and  before  I  had  left  my  cabin, 
Mr.  Langely  comes  to  me  with  a  message 
from  Captain  Leach  to  the  effect  that  he 


62  TJu  Rose  of  Paradise. 

would  like  to  have  a  few  words  with  me.  I 
at  once  sent  a  return  message  that  I  would 
be  pleased  to  see  him  at  whatever  time  it 
might  suit  him  to  come.  Accordingly  in 
about  five  minutes  he  knocked  upon  the 
door  of  my  cabin,  and  I  bade  him  enter.  I 
motioned  him  to  a  chair,  but  he  only  bowed 
and  remained  standing  where  he  was,  nigh 
to  the  door. 

"  Captain  Mackra,"  said  he,  coldly,  "  you 
were  pleased  to  put  upon  me  last  night  a 
gross  and  uncalled-for  insult.  I  cannot  sum- 
mon you  to  account  for  it  at  present,  al- 
though I  hope  to  do  so  in  the  future.  But 
you  may  perceive,  sir,  that  it  will  be  best 
both  for  you  and  for  myself  that  I  should 
withdraw  from  this  ship,  and  finish  my  pas- 
sage to  India,  as  the  opportunity  now  offers, 
either  in  the  Greenwich  or  the  Van  Wei- 
land"  (which  was  the  name  of  the  Ostend 
boat). 

I  was  overjoyed  at  so  propitious  an  op- 
portunity of  getting  thus  easily  rid  of  my 


I 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  6j 

uncomfortable  passenger.  However,  I  think 
I  showed  nothing  of  this  to  him — at  least  I 
endeavored  not  to  do  so — and  told  him  that 
a  boat  was  at  his  service  if  he  chose  to  look 
for  another  berth  for  the  rest  of  the  voyage. 
I  myself  went  upon  deck  and  had  the  gig 
lowered,  into  which  Captain  Leach  present- 
ly stepped,  having  bid  good-by  to  his  fellow- 
passengers,  and  having  said  that  he  would 
send  for  his  chest  so  soon  as  he  had  secured 
a  berth  in  one  or  the  other  of  the  vessels 
mentioned.  I  gave  directions  to  the  boat- 
swain, who  was  captain  of  the  gig,  to  await 
Captain  Leach's  orders  until  he  should  in- 
dicate that  he  had  no  further  use  for  the 
boat,  and  then  saw  him  rowed  away  to  the 
Greenwich  with  the  most  inexpressible  pleas- 
ure. 

The  Cassandra  s  boat  lay  alongside  of  the 
Greenwich  for  maybe  half  an  hour,  at  the 
end  of  which  time  I  was  surprised  to  see 
Captain  Leach  re-enter  her,  and  direct  his 
course  to  the  Ostender,  which  lay  a  little 


64  TJie  Rose  of  Paradise. 

distance  beyond.  He  remained  aboard  of 
her  for  about  the  same  length  of  time  that 
he  had  stayed  with  the  Greenwich,  after 
which  he  climbed  the  boat  for  a  third  time, 
and  directed  his  course  for  the  Cassandra 
again. 

I  was  standing  upon  the  quarter-deck 
when  he  came  aboard,  and  he  approached 
me  with  a  countenance  expressive  of  the  ut- 
most mortification  and  chagrin. 

"  Captain  Mackra,"  said  he,  "  I  find  that 
by  a  most  unfortunate  sequence  of  events  I 
can  find  a  berth  neither  aboard  the  Green- 
wich nor  the  Ostender,  so  that  nothing  re- 
mains but  for  me  to  force  my  unwelcome 
presence  upon  you  for  the  balance  of  the 
voyage." 

I  own  that  I  was  very  much  disappoint- 
ed by  these  words.  However,  nothing  re- 
mained but  to  put  the  best  face  possible 
upon  the  matter.  "  Sir,"  said  I,  as  gracious- 
ly as  I  could  contrive  to  speak,  although  I 
am  afraid  that  my  tone  was  expressive  of 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  65 

my  disappointment,  "it  was  at  your  own 
suggestion  that  you  quitted  the  Cassandra  ; 
your  berth,  sir,  is  still  ready  for  your  occu- 
pation." 

He  said  nothing  further,  but  indicating 
his  acknowledgments  with  a  bow,  proceeded 
directly  to  his  cabin. 
5 


VII. 

As  I  was  in  such  a  ferment  of  spirit  for 
all  this  time,  and  so  fearful  of  an  attack 
from  the  pirate  craft,  having  continually  in 
my  mind  not  only  the  treasure,  but  also  the 
helpless  women  intrusted  to  my  keeping,  it 
might  occur  to  the  reader  to  ask  why  I  did 
not  send  both  it  and  them  to  such  a  place 
of  safety  upon  the  land  as  the  king's  town 
offered  to  English  people  beset  as  we  were. 
I  may  now  say  that  I  had  considered  it,  and 
had  perceived  that  more  than  one  difficulty 
lay  in  the  way.  In  the  first  place,  I  could 
not  send  the  ship's  boat  to  the  king's  town, 
because  that  in  passing  the  cape  to  the 
northward  they  would  come  within  a  mile 
or  less  of  the  pirate  craft,  from  which  they 
might  not  hope  to  escape  without  molesta- 
tion. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  67 

Secondly,  I  could  not  send  them  across 
the  country,  because  it  would  require  not 
only  an  escort  such  as  could  be  ill  spared 
at  this  juncture,  but  also  an  efficient  leader, 
who  might  be  spared  even  less  readily.  Be- 
sides this,  I  could  not  tell  what  dangers  such 
a  party  might  encounter,  not  only  from  na- 
tives, of  whose  disposition  I  knew  nothing, 
but  also  from  wild  beasts,  which  we  could 
hear  distinctly  every  night,  howling  in  the 
jungles  in  a  most  melancholy,  dreadful  man- 
ner. 

Thirdly  and  lastly,  I  did  not  believe  the 
pirates  would  stay  long  where  they  were, 
as  I  had  often  heard  of  the  cowardly  dis- 
position of  these  bloody  wretches ;  where- 
fore I  hoped  that,  seeing  how  well  we  were 
posted  to  guard  ourselves  against  an  attack 
from  them,  they  might  take  themselves 
away  upon  the  first  occasion,  which  they 
could  not  now  do  because  of  the  calm 
weather.  I  furthermore  argued  that  in  any 
event,  should  occasion  render  it  necessary, 


68  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  could  easily  disembark  my  passengers 
with  but  little  loss  of  time,  and  as  easily  and 
safely  then  as  now. 

Such  had  been  the  nature  of  my  thoughts 
whenever  I  had  directed  them  upon  the 
melancholy  and  gloomy  state  of  our  affairs. 
Yet  had  the  most  sinister  forebodings  which 
I  had  entertained  at  those  times  been  ful- 
filled, our  misfortunes  could  not  have  equal- 
led those  which  in  truth  fell  upon  us,  the 
history  of  which  I  have  immediately  to  tell. 

Captain  Leach's  trip  in  search  of  a  new 
berth  had  been  undertaken  so  early  in  the 
morning  that  it  was  not  yet  noon  when 
he  had  returned.  Some  little  time  after 
that,  I  being  in  my  own  cabin  at  the  time, 
there  came  of  a  sudden  a  sound  that  was, 
as  it  were,  the  first  muttering  of  the  storm 
that  was  so  soon  to  fall  upon  us.  It  was 
the  dull  and  heavy  boom  of  a  single  cannon, 
sounding  from  a  great  way  off,  and  which  I 
instantly  knew  had  been  fired  aboard  of  the 
pirate  craft. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  69 

I  went  straight  upon  the  deck,  where  I 
found  the  weather  still  as  dead  a  calm  as  it 
had  been  the  two  days  before,  with  not  so 
much  as  a  breath  of  air  stirring  or  a  cat's- 
paw  upon  the  water.  The  ground-swell  rose 
and  fell  as  smoothly  as  though  the  sea  ran 
with  oil  instead  of  water,  and  the  sky  above 
had  an  appearance  as  of  a  solid  sheet  of 
steel-blue,  with  not  so  much  as  one  single 
cloud  upon  the  whole  face  of  it.  But  the 
first  thing  that  I  beheld  was  the  pirate  craft, 
and  that  they  were  hoisting  sail  as  though 
they  perceived  a  breeze  coming,  of  which 
we  saw  nothing.  Across  her  port  bow  the 
smoke  of  her  gun  still  hung  like  a  round 
white  cloud  just  above  the  glassy  surface  of 
the  sea. 

"  Sure  she  means  to  quit  us,  Mr.  Lange- 
ly,"  said  I ;  but  Mr.  Langely  never  answered, 
for  just  as  he  opened  his  lips  to  speak,  the 
lookout  roared,  "  Sail  ho !" 

"  Where  away  ?"  sang  out  Mr.  White,  who 
was  officer  of  the  deck  at  that  time. 


jo  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

But  before  the  word  reached  us  I  myself, 
and  I  suspect  most  of  the  others,  had  sighted 
the  craft  away  to  the  southward,  coming  up 
under  full  sail,  and  with  a  breeze  of  which 
we  could  see  nothing. 

She  was  at  that  time  some  six  or  seven 
miles  distant,  and  just  emerging  from  be* 
hind  a  raised  thicket  of  scrub  bushes  that 
lay  betwixt  her  and  the  Cassandra,  and 
which  had  hidden  her  until  now. 

The  strange  craft  was  a  large  sloop,  of 
such  an  appearance  that  even  had  not  the 
pirate  fired  that  which  was  no  doubt  a  sig- 
nal-gun, methinks  I  should  have  entertained 
the  most  sinister  and  gloomy  forebodings 
concerning  her  nature  and  her  character. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  her,  Mr.  Langely?" 
said  I,  after  watching  her  for  some  time  in 
silence. 

"  It  is  the  pirate's  consort,  sir,"  said  he, 
very  seriously. 

"  I  do  believe  you  are  right,"  said  I,  "  and 
that  is  why  she  has  been  waiting  for  all  these 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  77 

days,  keeping  us  bottled  up  so  that  we  could 
not  have  got  away  even  if  we  had  had  a 
breeze." 

I  did  not  tell  Mr.  Langely  all  that  was 
upon  my  mind;  nevertheless,  I  could  not 
but  regard  our  present  position  as  one  of 
the  most  extreme  peril.  For  if  one  pirate 
craft,  with  its  crew  of  blood-thirsty  wretches, 
was  a  match  for  us  sufficient  to  hold  us 
where  we  now  were,  what  harm  might  not 
two  of  them  accomplish  should  they  attack 
us  peaceful  merchantmen,  unused  as  we 
were  to  the  arts  of  war,  in  this  narrow  har- 
bor, where  we  might  hope  neither  to  ma- 
noeuvre nor  to  escape. 

We  were  already  cleared  for  action,  hav- 
ing had  full  time  to  prepare  ourselves  since 
danger  had  first  threatened  us ;  according- 
ly, leaving  Mr.  Langely  to  supervise  such 
few  details  as  might  still  remain  to  demand 
attention,  I  had  my  gig  lowered,  and  went 
aboard  of  the  Greenwich  to  consult  with 
Captain  Kirby  as  to  means  of  defending 


7 2  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

ourselves  against  this  new  and  additional 
danger  that  threatened  our  existence. 

The  Ostend  captain  was  there  when  I 
came  aboard,  and  I  fancied,  though  I  then 
knew  not  why,  that  he  and  Captain  Kirby 
looked  at  one  another  in  a  very  strange  and 
peculiar  manner  when  I  entered  the  cabin. 
Besides  that,  I  noticed  little  or  no  prepara- 
tion for  action  had  been  made. 

"  We'll  stand  by  you,"  says  Captain  Kir- 
by ;  "  in  course  we'll  stand  by  you,  though 
you  must  know  it  is  each  one  for  himself, 
and  devil  take  the  hindmost,  at  such  times 
as  these." 

I  was  mightily  amazed  and  taken  aback 
at  this  speech.  "  And  why  do  you  talk  so 
about  standing  by  me,  Captain  Kirby  ?"  said 
I.  "  Is  it  not,  then,  that  we  stand  by  one 
another  ?  Is  my  craft  in  greater  peril  than 
yours,  or  am  I  to  be  given  up  as  a  sacrifice 
to  these  wicked  and  bloody  wretches  ?" 

I  thought  he  seemed  vastly  disturbed  at 
this  speech. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  /j 

"  In  course,"  says  he,  "  we'll  stand  by  one 
another.  All  the  same,  each  must  look  out 
for  himself." 

I  regarded  Captain  Kirby  for  a  while 
without  speaking,  and  he  seemed  more  than 
ever  troubled  at  my  gaze. 

"  Sir !  sir  !"  I  cried,  "  I  must  tell  you  that 
I  do  not  understand  this  matter.  Do  you 
not  mean  to  make  a  fight  of  it  ?" 

At  this  he  flew  into  a  mighty  fume. 
"  How !"  says  he ;  "  do  you  mean  to  ques- 
tion my  courage  ?  Do  you  call  me  a  cow- 
ard ?" 

"  No,  sir,"  says  I,  "  I  call  you  nothing ; 
only  I  did  not  understand  your  speech. 
Sure,  sir,  you  cannot  but  remember  that  I 
have  three  helpless  women  aboard  my  ship, 
and  that  it  behooves  you  as  a  man  and  an 
Englishman  to  stand  by  me  in  this  time  of 
peril." 

So  saying,  I  left  the  cabin  and  the  ship, 
but  with  the  weight  of  trouble  that  lay 
upon  my  mind  anything  but  lightened,  for 


74  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  could  not  understand  why,  we  all  being 
in  this  peril  together,  neither  he  nor  the 
Ostend  captain  had  spoken  a  single  word 
concerning  our  defence. 

However,  I  yet  retained  the  hope  that 
the  pirates  would  not  venture  into  our  har- 
bor, seeing  that  we  were  three  to  two,  and 
lying  in  a  chosen  position  whence  we  might 
hope  to  defend  ourselves  for  a  long  time, 
and  to  their  undoing. 

Upon  my  return  I  found  my  passen- 
gers all  in  the  great  cabin,  and  in  a  very 
serious  mood,  having  heard  some  rumor 
as  to  the  danger  that  threatened.  I  stood 
for  a  while  as  though  not  knowing  what 
to  say,  but  at  last  I  made  shift  to  tell 
them  how  matters  stood,  and  in  what  dan- 
ger we  were  like  to  be,  though  I  smoothed 
everything  over  as  much  as  lay  in  my 
power.  I  think  that  our  peril  had  been 
pretty  well  discussed  amongst  them  be- 
fore I  confirmed  it  with  that  which  I  said. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  amazed  even  now  at 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  75 

the  coolness  with  which  all  hands  regard- 
ed it. 

Mistress  Pamela,  I  recollect,  laid  her 
hand  lightly  upon  my  arm.  "  Whatever 
our  danger  may  be,"  she  cried, "  this  we  all 
know,  that  we  could  confide  our  safety  to 
no  truer  sailor  nor  more  gallant  man  than 
he  who  commands  this  ship."  This  she  said 
before  them  all  who  were  there  standing. 

In  my  cabin  I  summoned  Mr.  Langely 
and  Mr.  White  (my  second  mate)  to  a  seri- 
ous consultation,  which  was  the  last  we 
were  to  hold  before  that  great  and  bloody 
battle  concerning  which  so  much  hath  been 
writ  and  spoken  of  late.  When  we  had 
finished  our  councils  we  came  upon  deck 
again,  and  found  that  the  sloop  was  rather 
less  than  a  mile  distant  from  the  other  craft, 
and  in  a  little  while  she  hove  to  nigh  to  the 
barque,  and  let  go  her  anchor  with  a  splash 
and  rattle  of  the  cable  which  we  could  hear 
distinctly  whence  we  lay. 

For  half  an  hour  Mr.  Langely  and  I  stood 


7<5  T/te  Rose  of  Paradise. 

upon  the  poop-deck  watching  the  two  crafts 
by  aid  of  the  telescope,  and  what  we  saw  in 
that  time  foreboded  to  my  mind  no  good 
to  ourselves. 

First  we  beheld  a  boat  pass  from  the 
barque  to  the  sloop,  and  in  which  was  one 
evidently  of  great  consequence  amongst  the 
pirates,  for  by  aid  of  the  glass  we  could 
distinguish  that  his  apparel  was  better  than 
the  others,  and  also  that  he  wore  what  ap- 
peared to  be  a  crimson  scarf  tied  about  his 
body. 

He  remained  aboard  the  sloop  for  may- 
be  the  space  of  ten  minutes,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  returned  again  to  the  barque, 
where  they  immediately  began  lowering 
away  the  boats.  Four  of  these  boats  were 
filled  with  men  who  were  all  transported  to 
the  sloop,  up  the  side  of  which  we  soon  saw 
them  swarm  to  the  number  of  fifty  or  more. 

Whilst  these  things  had  been  going  for- 
ward, Mr.  Langely  and  I  had  been  standing 
in  silence,  but  now  my  first  mate  turned  to 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  77 

me, "  Sir,"  said  he, "  methinks  that  they  mean 
to  attack  us." 

I  nodded  my  head  in  answer,  but  said 
nothing. 

By  this  time  the  breeze  was  wellnigh 
upon  us,  for  the  smooth  water  all  around 
us  was  dusked  by  the  little  cat's-paws  that 
swept  the  glassy  surface. 

Now  that  morning,  just  before  the  pirate 
sloop  hove  in  sight,  I  had  got  out  warps  by 
means  of  which  I  hoped  to  change  our  posi- 
tion, bringing  the  Cassandra  nigher  to  the 
Greenwich,  and  to  a  station  of  greater  de- 
fence. In  this,  however,  we  had  made  but 
little  progress,  for  the  current  set  strong 
against  us  at  the  present  state  of  the  tide. 
Seeing  now  the  imminence  of  the  attack, 
I  hoisted  sail,  hoping  to  take  advantage  of 
the  first  wind,  and  bring  the  Cassandra 
closer  to  the  Greenwich. 

What  followed  I  am  even  now  not  able 
to  explain,  for  I  am  slow  to  believe  that  one 


78  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

English  captain  could  desert  another  in 
such  an  emergency  as  the  present.  It  might 
be  that  Captain  Kirby  thought  that  we  in- 
tended trying  to  get  away  upon  the  wind, 
for  the  Greenwich  also  began  immediately 
to  set  all  her  sail.  Seeing  what  they  were 
about  I  hailed  the  other  craft,  but  got  no 
answer.  Then  I  hailed  her  again  and  again, 
but  still  received  no  reply. 

The  next  minute  she,  being  open  to  the 
first  puffs  of  the  breeze  by  a  valley,  filled 
and  bore  away,  followed  by  the  Ostender, 
who  had  also  set  her  sails,  leaving  me  be- 
calmed where  I  was. 

"  My  God  !"  cried  Mr.  Langely,  "  do  they 
mean  to  desert  us  ?  Look,  sir,  here  come 
the  pirates  !" 

I  had  just  then  been  so  intent  upon  the 
other  vessels  that  I  had  not  thought  of  ob- 
serving what  our  enemies  were  about,  not 
thinking  that  they  would  take  such  imme- 
diate action.  But,  no  doubt,  seeing  us  set 
our  sails,  and  fearing  that  we  might  get 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  79 

away,  slipped  their  own  cables ;  for  they 
were  now  coming  down  upon  us  with  the 
freshening  wind,  having  already  entered  the 
channel  as  boldly  as  though  there  were 
none  to  oppose  them,  the  sloop  leading  the 
others  by  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or  so.  Indeed 
the  Greenwich  and  the  Ostender  bearing 
away  had  left  the  passage  entirely  open  to 
them,  with  no  one  but  ourselves  to  oppose 
them. 

In  this  extremity  I  hailed  the  Greenwich 
for  a  third  time,  and  getting  no  answer,  or- 
dered the  gunner  to  fire  across  her  bows, 
but  in  spite  of  this  she  did  not  heave  to, 
whereupon  we  gave  her  a  round  shot,  but 
whether  to  her  harm  or  no  I  am  not  able 
to  say. 

And  now  nothing  remained  for  us  but 
to  fight  what  appeared  a  hopeless  battle 
against  heavy  odds. 

The  main  ship-channel  leading  from  the 
offing  to  the  bay  or  harbor  wherein  the 


8o  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

Cassandra,  the  Greenwich,  and  the  Osten- 
der  had  been  riding  for  these  days  past, 
lead  almost  easterly  and  westerly,  but  so 
shaped  by  the  sand-bars  to  the  south  and 
those  shoals  that  ran  out  from  the  northern 
cape  as  to  take  the  form  of  a  very  crooked 
letter  S.  Nowhere  was  this  channel  over 
half  or  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  and  in 
some  places  it  was  hardly  more  than  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  wide. 

From  the  position  which  the  Cassandra 
occupied  this  entrance  to  the  harbor  was 
so  well  defended  that  any  vessel  entering 
thereat  must  be  twice  raked  by  our  broad- 
side fire,  once  in  rounding  the  northern, 
and  once  the  southern  angle  of  the  channel. 
Hence  it  was  that  I  determined  to  hold  our 
present  position  as  long  as  I  was  able. 

But  the  pirates  did  not  both  attack  us  by 
way  of  the  main  ship -channel  as  we  had 
expected,  for  when  they  had  rounded  the 
northern  angle  the  sloop,  fearing  perhaps 
that  we  would  try  to  get  away  upon  the 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  81 

wind,  instead  of  keeping  in  consort  with 
the  barque,  made  directly  for  us  across  the 
shoals  that  lay  between  us  and  them.  This 
they  were  able  to  do  without  running 
aground,  both  because  of  their  intimate 
knowledge  of  these  intricate  waters  and  of 
the  small  amount  of  water  which  the  sloop 
drew. 

"  We'll  rake  'em  anyhow,"  says  I  to  Mr. 
Langely,  for  I  could  see  no  other  means  for 
them  to  approach  us  but  to  come  upon  us 
bow  on,  there  being  no  room  to  manoeuvre 
among  the  bars  and  shoals  that  lay  betwixt 
us  and  them. 

But  the  devilish  ingenuity  of  these 
cruel,  wicked  wretches  supplied  them  with 
other  means  than  a  direct  attack  upon 
the  Cassandra,  for,  when  they  had  come 
within  about  a  mile  or  so  of  us,  they 
hove  to,  dropped  their  main-sail,  and,  run- 
ning out  great  oars  from  the  ports  be- 
tween decks,  began  rowing  towards  us  in 
a  clumsy  fashion,  somewhat  after  the  man- 
6 


82  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

ner  of  a  galleon.  By  this  means,  and  by 
the  aid  of  the  current  which  set  towards 
us,  they  were  enabled  to  keep  nearly  broad- 
side on,  and  so  avoid  being  raked  by  our 
fire. 

"  Mr.  Langely,"  said  I,  "  if  they  are  able 
to  board  us  we  are  lost.  Order  the  gun- 
ner to  fire  upon  the  oars  and  not  upon  the 
decks." 

"  Ay,  ay,"  says  he,  and  turned  away. 


VIII. 

THE  pirates  were  the  first  to  open  the 
battle,  which  they  did  when  within  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  us,  giving  us  a  broad- 
side. It  was  the  first  time  that  I  had  ever 
been  under  fire  in  all  of  my  life,  and  never 
shall  I  forget  it  as  long  as  I  may  live.  Their 
aim  was  wonderfully  accurate,  so  that  when 
their  shot  struck  us  a  great  cloud  of  white 
splinters  flew  from  a  dozen  places  at  once. 
I  saw  three  men  drop  upon  the  deck,  and 
one  who  stood  at  a  gun  on  the  quarter-deck 
just  below  me  leaned  suddenly  forward  half 
across  the  cannon  with  a  deep  groan,  whilst 
a  fountain  of  blood  gushed  out  from  his 
bosom  across  the  carriage  and  upon  the  deck. 
One  of  the  others  caught  him  by  the  arm, 
whereupon  he  turned  half  round  and  then 
slipped  and  fell  forward  upon  his  face. 


84  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

He  was  the  first  man  killed  in  this  action, 
and  the  first  that  I  ever  beheld  die  in  a  like 
manner. 

The  Cassandra  answered  the  pirate's  fire 
almost  immediately.  But  our  guns  were 
trained,  as  I  had  ordered,  upon  the  oars 
and  not  upon  the  crowded  decks,  so  that 
while  every  shot  that  they  delivered  told 
upon  the  lives  of  the  poor  fellows  aboard 
the  Cassandra,  our  return  fire  did  apparent- 
ly no  harm  to  them. 

I  hope  I  may  never  again  feel  such  an 
agony  of  impatience  and  doubt  and  almost 
despair,  as  I  beheld  my  men  fall  by  ones 
and  twos  upon  the  deck,  which  soon  became 
stained  and  smeared  with  their  blood  whilst 
the  pirate  craft  came  drifting  ever  nigher 
and  nigher  to  us,  its  decks  swarming  with 
yelling,  naked  wretches  that  in  their  aspect 
and  manners  resembled  demons  incarnated 
rather  than  mortal  men. 

"  Mr.  Langely,"  said  I,  in  a  low  voice,  "  if 
those  oars  are  not  broken  in  five  minutes' 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  8$ 

time  we  are  all  lost."  For  there  yet  re- 
mained three  thrust  through  the  ports  upon 
the  side  nighest  to  the  Cassandra,  and  the 
current  was  carrying  the  pirate  craft  in 
such  a  direction  that  if  they  were  able  to 
hold  their  course  a  little  while  longer  they 
would  be  almost  certain  to  drift  upon  us 
and  so  board  us. 

One  minute  passed,  and  two  minutes, 
then  there  was  a  shiver  of  splinters,  and 
only  one  oar  was  left.  Instantly  the  stern 
of  the  sloop  began  to  swing  slowly  around 
towards  us,  for  one  oar  was  not  enough  to 
keep  her  to  the  current.  I  could  see  the 
ash  wood  bend  with  the  strain  like  a  willow 
twig,  then — snap!  —  it  broke,  and  around 
came  the  stern  with  a  swing  directly  un- 
der our  fire.  The  pirates  sprang  to  the 
main -sheets,  but  it  was  too  late  to  save 
themselves. 

When  the  crew  of  the  Cassandra  saw  the 
result  of  their  fire  they  burst  out  shouting 
and  cheering  like  madmen.  Down  came 


86  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

the  sloop  drifting  stern  on,  whilst  the  Cas- 
sandra, making  up  for  lost  time,  poured 
broadside  after  broadside  into  her.  Never 
did  I  behold  such  a  sight  in  all  of  my  life, 
for  every  shot  we  gave  her  ploughed  great 
lanes  along  her  crowded  decks.  To  make 
matters  worse  for  them,  their  mast  was  pres- 
ently shot  through,  falling  alongside  in  a 
great  tangled  wreck,  thus  preventing  any 
manoeuvres  which  they  might  still  have 
hoped  to  make.  They  drifted  by  us  at 
about  forty  or  fifty  yards'  distance,  shout- 
ing and  yelling,  and  giving  us  a  last  broad- 
side with  great  courage  and  determination. 
They  presently  ran  aground  upon  a  sand- 
bar and  there  stuck  fast  for  the  time, 
though  in  such  shoal  water  that  we  could 
not  come  nigher  to  them  than  we  then 
were. 

All  this  while  the  barque  had  been  slow- 
ly making  her  way  through  the  tortuous 
turnings  of  the  channel.  At  one  point,  the 
water  being  low,  she  had  run  aground,  and 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  87 

though  she  had  cleared  again  with  the  rising 
tide,  she  had  been  so  delayed  by  this  mis- 
chance that  she  had  not  been  able  to  come 
up  in  aid  of  her  consort. 

But  immediately  they  discerned  what  mis- 
hap had  befallen  the  sloop,  and  that  she 
was  fast  aground  and  in  no  present  position 
to  attack  us,  they  hove  to  and  lay  directly 
athwart  the  channel. 

I  at  once  perceived  their  intentions,  and 
that  they  were  determined  to  keep  us  shut 
up  where  we  were  until  the  sloop  could  float 
clear  away  with  the  rising  tide  and  resume 
her  attack  against  us.  It  was  then  that  the 
resolve  entered  my  mind  not  to  await  an  at- 
tack but  to  seek  it  ourselves ;  for  though  the 
crew  of  the  barque  must  have  outnumbered 
that  of  the  Cassandra  two  to  one,  she  was 
yet  much  the  smaller  vessel  of  the  two  and 
the  less  heavily  armed.  Now,  if  we  could 
only  once  get  past  her  and  safe  into  the 
channel  our  safety  would  be  wellnigh  as- 
sured ;  for,  as  said  above,  the  Cassandra 


88  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

was  one  of  the  best  sailers  at  the  East  India 
Company's  docks. 

I  turned  and  beckoned  my  first  mate  to 
me.  "Sir,"  said  I,  "yonder  is  our  one  and 
only  chance  of  getting  away ;  we  must  run 
down  upon  that  vessel  in  the  channel,  en- 
gage her,  and  trust  to  God  and  take  our 
chance  of  getting  safe  past  her  and  away. 
If  we  are  fortunate  enough  to  pass  her  we 
can  gain  a  good  start  before  she  can  round 
to  in  such  narrow  sea-room."  Mr.  Lange- 
ly  opened  his  mouth  as  though  to  speak. 
"  Nay,  nay,  sir,"  I  cried,  "  it  is  our  only 
chance,  and  we  must  take  it." 

At  first  we  did  not  suffer  so  much  as  I 
had  expected  from  the  fire  of  the  pirate ;  but 
when  we  had  come  within  one  hundred  or 
two  hundred  yards  of  them,  and  when  with- 
in range  of  the  musketry  in  their  fore  and 
main  tops,  their  fire  was  truly  dreadful. 

The  Cassandra  s  wheel  was  stationed  un- 
der the  overhang  of  the  poop-deck,  and  upon 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  89 

the  helmsman  most  of  their  aim  was  concen- 
trated ;  for  if  the  Cassandra  was  once  al- 
lowed to  fall  off,  and  should  run  aground  in 
the  narrow  channel,  she  would  then  be  in 
their  power,  and  they  could  destroy  her  at 
their  leisure. 

One  after  another  three  men  fell  at  that 
dangerous  post,  which  was  entirely  open  to 
the  pirate's  fire.  We  were  now  within  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  them,  and  a  fourth 
took  hold,  but  only  for  a  minute,  for  he  pres- 
ently dropped  upon  his  knees,  though  he 
still  kept  a  tight  grip  on  the  wheel,  keeping 
the  ship  upon  her  course.  Mr.  Langely  and 
I  were  standing  under  the  overhang  of  the 
poop,  whereupon  he,  seeing  that  the  man 
was  wounded,  without  waiting  for  orders 
from  me,  sprang  forward  and  seized  the 
wheel  in  his  own  hands  just  as  the  other 
fell  forward  upon  his  face. 

The  next  minute  Mr.  Langely  cried  out, 
"  My  God,  captain,  I  am  shot !"  His  right 
hand  fell  at  his  side,  and  in  an  instant  I  be- 


go  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

held  his  shirt  stained  with  blood  that  gushed 
out  from  the  wound  in  his  shoulder. 

The  ship  beginning  to  fall  off,  I  ran  for- 
ward and  took  the  wheel  myself,  for  in  a 
minute  more,  if  we  held  our  course,  we 
would  be  under  the  pirate's  stern,  and  in  a 
position  to  rake  them  with  our  starboard 
broadside.  I  heard  a  dozen  bullets  strike 
into  the  wood-work  around  me ;  one  struck 
the  wheel,  so  that  I  felt  as  if  my  hand 
and  my  wrist  were  paralyzed  by  the  jar. 
The  next  instant  I  felt  a  terrible  blow  upon 
my  head ;  a  hot  red  stream  gushed  over  my 
face  and  into  my  eyes,  and  for  a  moment 
my  brain  reeled.  Some  one  caught  hold 
of  me,  but  just  as  darkness  settled  upon  me 
I  felt  the  ship  shake  beneath  me  and  heard 
the  roar  of  our  broadside.  We  \vere  under 
the  pirate's  stern  at  last. 

I  could  not  have  lain  insensible  for  many 
minutes,  for  when  I  opened  my  eyes  and 
saw  the  surgeon  and  my  second  mate  bend- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  gi 

ing  over  me,  it  was  still  with  the  roar  of 
cannon  in  my  ears. 

"  How  is  this,  Mr.  White  ?"  cried  I ;  "  are 
we  not  then  past  the  pirate  ?" 

"  Sir,"  said  my  second  mate,  in  a  very  se- 
rious voice,  "  we  are  run  aground." 

"  And  the  pirate  ?"  cried  I. 

"  She  is  also  aground,"  said  he,  "  and  we 
rake  her  with  every  shot." 

I  got  to  my  feet,  in  spite  of  the  surgeon's 
protest,  putting  him  impatiently  aside. 

It  was  as  Mr.  White  said ;  the  pirate  was 
aground  about  two  or  three  hundred  yards 
away  from  us,  fast  stuck  upon  the  bar,  stern 
towards  us.  She  must  have  received  more 
than  one  shot  betwixt  wind  and  water,  for 
she  was  heeled  over  to  one  side,  and  I  could 
see  a  stream  of  bloody  water  pouring  con- 
tinually from  her  scupper-holes. 

But  I  also  saw  that  we  were  stuck  hard 
and  fast,  and  that  though  our  position  was 
better  than  theirs,  every  shot  that  we  fired 
drove  us  with  the  recoil  more  firmly  aground. 


92  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  at  once  gave  orders  that  all  firing  except 
with  muskets  should  be  stopped;  so  there 
we  lay  aground  for  more  than  half  an  hour, 
answering  the  pirate's  fire  with  our  flintlocks. 

Although  this  was  dreadful  for  us  to 
bear  at  the  time,  in  the  end  it  proved  to  be 
our  salvation ;  for  when  the  tide  raised  we 
floated  clear  fully  ten  minutes  before  the  pi- 
rates, and  so  escaped  immediate  destruction. 

In  the  mean  time,  whilst  we  lay  there  the 
sloop  had  floated  clear,  and  the  pirates  hav- 
ing cut  away  the  wreck  of  the  main-mast, 
and  having  rigged  up  oars  like  those  we 
had  shot  away,  presently  came  to  the  aid  of 
their  consort.  Seeing  our  situation,  and 
that  we  were  fast  aground,  they  did  not  at- 
tack us  directly,  but  made  for  the  channel 
by  the  way  which  they  had  left  it,  thus  en- 
tering above  us  and  cutting  off  all  our 
chance  of  escape.  For  though  we  had  so 
nearly  passed  the  other  craft,  we  could  not 
hope  to  pass  them  without  being  boarded, 
for  with  their  oars  they  could  come  as  they 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  93 

chose,  and  were  not  dependent  on  the 
wind. 

So  soon  as  they  had  entered  the  chan- 
nel they  laid  their  course  directly  for  us, 
but  before  they  could  come  up  with  us,  we 
also  had  floated  clear,  as  before  stated ;  and 
though  we  could  not  escape  to  the  open 
water,  we  were  yet  enabled  to  enter  the 
harbor  again,  which  we  did,  followed  by  the 
fire  of  the  pirate  barque. 

The  wind  now  had  almost  fallen  away 
again,  so  that  the  sloop,  driven  by  her  oars, 
and  enabled  by  her  light  draught  to  cross 
the  shoals  and  bars  which  we  could  not 
make,  began  to  draw  up  with  us,  endeavor- 
ing with  all  diligence  to  board  us.  Never- 
theless, we  contrived  to  make  a  running 
fight  of  it  for  almost  an  hour. 

At  last,  the  other  vessel  having  repaired 
her  damages,  and  having  some  time  since 
floated  clear  off,  came  down  upon  us  in  aid 
of  her  consort,  for  the  sloop  was  very  plain- 
ly filling  rapidly,  having  heeled  over  so  much 


94  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

to  one  side  that  her  decks  were  greatly  ex- 
posed to  our  fire. 

For  all  this  long  time  the  Greenwich  and 
Ostender  had  been  riding  at  about  three  or 
four  miles  distant,  not  being  able  to  escape 
to  open  water  whilst  the  pirates  held  the 
channel.  But  so  far  from  coming  to  our  as- 
sistance, they  made  no  sign  of  help  or  fired 
so  much  as  a  single  gun  in  our  aid. 

By  this  time  more  than  half  of  my  officers 
and  men  had  been  either  killed  or  wounded, 
so  that  when  I  beheld  the  barque,  crowded 
with  naked,  howling  wretches,  thirsting  for 
our  blood,  come  bearing  down  upon  us,  and 
when  I  beheld  how  little  hope  there  was  of 
Captain  Kirby's  coming  to  our  assistance, 
I  could  see  no  other  chance  for  our  safety 
than  to  run  the  Cassandra  ashore,  and,  if 
possible,  to  escape  to  the  beach  as  best  we 
could.  Accordingly,  I  gave  the  necessary 
orders  to  Mr.  White,  and  the  Cassandra  laid 
her  course  for  the  beach,  closely  followed 
only  by  the  pirate  barque,  the  sloop  having 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  95 

already  been  run  ashore  about  half  a  mile 
below  to  keep  her  from  sinking. 

In  five  minutes  the  Cassandra  struck, 
grounding  at  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
shore.  The  pirate  drew  fully  four  feet  less 
water,  but  it  pleased  God  that  she  stuck 
fast  on  higher  ground,  so  that,  after  all,  they 
were  prevented  from  boarding  us. 

Here  we  fought,  for  nearly  an  hour,  the 
last,  and  I  know  not  whether  it  was  not  the 
bloodiest  engagement  of  that  whole  day; 
nor  can  I  sufficiently  praise  the  behavior 
not  only  of  the  officers,  but  of  the  men, 
who  even  in  this  extremity  behaved  with 
the  most  extraordinary  courage,  though  the 
crew  of  the  sloop  supplied  the  larger  vessel 
with  three  boatfuls  of  fresh  men. 

Meantime  the  Greenwich  followed  the 
lead  of  the  Ostender  and  stood  clear  away 
to  sea,  leaving  us  struggling  in  the  very 
jaws  of  death.  Soon  after  the  pirate  craft 
floated  clear  off  with  the  rising  tide,  and 
immediately  fell  to  work  fitting  out  warps 


$6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

to  haul  out  under  our  stern,  though  still  at 
some  distance  from  us. 

Seeing  this,  no  hope  remained  for  us 
but  to  leave  the  ship,  if  possible,  with  the 
passengers  and  such  of  our  men  as  were 
still  alive,  trusting  to  Providence  not  only 
to  bring  us  safe  away,  but  to  keep  us  all  in 
that  desolate  country  amongst  a  strange 
and  savage  people. 


IX. 

As  said  above,  it  was  now  past  six  o'clock, 
and  Mr.  White  and  the  boatswain  were  the 
only  unwounded  officers  with  whom  I  dared 
intrust  the  command  of  the  boats  in  execut- 
ing my  plans  for  leaving  the  ship.* 

The  long-boat  and  the  gig  were  all  that 
remained  sound  and  uninjured,  the  others 
having  been  shot  or  stove  during  the  en- 
gagement. It  was  arranged  that  Mr.  Jeks, 
the  boatswain,  should  command  the  long- 
boat, and  Mr.  White  the  gig.  The  passen- 
gers and  the  less  seriously  wounded  were 
to  go  in  the  long-boat ;  Mr.  White  to  take 


*  Mr.  Richards,  the  third  mate,  had  been  killed  by 
a  grape  bullet  when  \ve  ran  down  upon  the  larger  of 
the  pirate  crafts.  He  was  a  young  man  of  great  prom- 
ise, of  but  twenty-two  years  of  age,  and  my  cousin's 
son. 


g8  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

those  who  had  been  more  dangerously  hurt 
in  the  gig. 

By  this  time  the  wind  had  died  down 
again,  and  it  was  as  calm  as  it  had  been  the 
two  days  before,  so  that  the  smoke  hung 
thick  about  the  ship  and  upon  the  water, 
and  did  not  drift  away.  Although,  because 
of  this  thick  cloud,  we  could  not  see  our 
enemy,  and  so  could  not  point  our  guns 
with  any  sureness  of  aim,  it  also  prevented 
him  from  seeing  us  and  what  we  were  about, 
so  that  all  our  movements  were  concealed 
from  him  as  his  were  from  us. 

Mr.  Langely  having  come  upon  deck  at 
this  time,  though  very  weak  and  feeble  from 
the  pain  of  his  wound,  I  intrusted  the  clear- 
ing away  and  lowering  of  the  boats  to  him, 
while  I  went  below  to  advise  the  women  of 
our  plans,  and  to  tell  them  to  get  together 
such  matters  as  they  might  need  in  this 
emergency.  I  found  them  in  a  most  pitia- 
ble state,  having  been  sent  below  at  the  first 
sign  of  the  approaching  battle,  and  left  by 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  99 

themselves  for  all  this  long  time  with  no 
light  but  that  of  a  lantern  slung  from  the 
deck  above,  hearing  the  uproar  of  the  fight 
and  the  groans  of  the  wounded  without  once 
knowing  whether  matters  were  going  for  us 
or  against  us. 

The  two  ladies  sat,  or  rather  crouched, 
upon  a  chest  or  box,  holding  one  another 
by  the  hand.  Mistress  Ann  lay  huddled  in 
a  corner  in  a  most  extreme  state  of  terror 
and  distraction. 

I  may  even  yet  see  in  my  mind's  eye  how 
Mistress  Pamela  appeared  when  I  clam- 
bered down  the  ladder:  her  face  was  as 
white  as  marble,  and  her  eyes  gazed  out 
from  the  shadow  of  her  brows  with  a  most 
intense  and  burning  glance.  My  heart  bled 
for  the  poor  creatures  when  I  thought  how 
much  they  must  have  suffered  since  they 
were  sent  to  this  dreadful  place. 

So  soon  as  they  saw  me  they  fell  to 
screaming,  and  clung  to  one  another.  Nor 
did  I  wonder  at  their  distraction  when  I  be- 


TOO  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

held  myself  a  few  minutes  later  in  the  glass 
in  my  cabin,  for  my  face  and  hands  were 
blackened  with  the  smoke  of  the  powder, 
my  shirt  and  waistcoat  were  stained  with 
the  blood  which  had  poured  out  from  the 
wound  in  my  head,  and  around  my  brow  was 
bound  a  bloody  napkin  which  I  had  hasti- 
ly wrapped  about  my  head  so  soon  as  I  had 
recovered  from  the  first  effects  of  my  wound. 
But  just  then  I  knew  not  how  I  looked,  nor 
reckoned  anything  of  it,  for  in  a  fight  such 
as  we  had  passed  through  one  has  little 
time  to  think  of  such  matters. 

"  Ladies,"  said  I,  speaking  as  gently  as 
I  could,  "  be  not  afraid  ;  it  is  I,  Captain 
Mackra." 

At  this  Mrs.  Evans  burst  into  a  great  pas- 
sion of  weeping,  with  her  face  buried  in  her 
hands,  while  Mistress  Pamela  still  regarded 
me,  though  with  a  fixed  and  stony  stare. 

"  Oh  God !"  she  cried ;  "  and  are  you 
hurt?"  And  she  pointed  with  her  out- 
stretched finger  to  my  head. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  101 

"  Why,  no,"  says  I,  making  shift  to  force 
a  laugh  in  spite  of  the  anxiety  with  which  I 
was  consumed ;  "  it  is  a  mere  scratch,  and 
nothing  to  speak  of.  There  is  no  time  now 
to  talk  of  such  little  matters  as  this,  but 
only  of  leaving  the  ship,  for  we  can  defend 
ourselves  no  longer.  Get  together  what 
things  you  need  from  your  cabin,  and  make 
haste,  for  there  is  no  time  to  lose." 

I  believe  that  Mistress  Ann  had  fainted 
clean  away  when  she  had  caught  sight  of 
me  climbing  down  the  ladder,  for  we  found 
that  she  was  in  no  condition  to  move,  so  I 
picked  her  up  in  my  arms  and  bore  her  to 
the  great  cabin,  the  others  following  close 
behind.  There  I  left  them  and  went  again 
upon  deck,  where  I  found  that  they  were 
bringing  the  wounded  up  from  below. 

I  hope  I  may  never  see  such  a  sight  again 
to  the  very  last  day  of  my  life,  for  it  is  one 
thing  to  behold  a  man  shot  in  the  heat  of 
an  action,  and  another  and  a  mightily  differ- 
ent thing  to  see  one  of  one's  own  shipmates 


102  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

carried  groaning  in  a  hammock  wet  and 
stained  with  his  blood. 

We  had  so  grounded  that  we  lay  within 
fifty  yards  of  the  shore,  and  it  could  take 
but  a  little  while  for  a  boat  to  go  thither 
and  return  to  the  ship  again.  Nevertheless, 
I  deemed  it  necessary  to  give  the  Rose  of 
Paradise  into  the  keeping  of  some  one  go- 
ing upon  this  first  passage,  and  upon  whom 
I  could  entirely  rely.  The  boatswain  had 
the  care  of  the  women,  which  was,  of  course, 
of  the  first  importance  of  all;  therefore, 
there  remained  no  one  in  whose  hands  I 
could  place  it  with  as  much  confidence  as  in 
those  of  Mr.  White. 

It  was  very  necessary  to  keep  up  the  show 
of  fighting,  lest  the  pirates  should  think  we 
had  surrendered,  and  so  come  aboard  of 
us,  but  all  hands  who  could  be  spared  from 
the  guns  were  engaged  in  lowering  the 
wounded  into  the  long-boat  and  gig. 

Leaving  Mr.  Langely  in  charge  of  this, 
I  took  Mr.  WThite  into-  my  cabin ;  there  I 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  103 

opened  the  locker  that  I  had  made  in  my 
berth,  and  took  out  the  box  containing  the 
jewel. 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I  am  about  to  show  you  a 
sign  both  of  my  regard  and  of  my  esteem. 
In  this  box  is  a  jewel  worth  above  three 
hundred  thousand  pounds ;  this  I  intrust 
for  the  present  into  your  keeping.  When 
you  get  to  the  shore  you  will  not  return 
with  the  gig,  but  will  remain  where  you  are, 
sending  the  boat  back  under  some  one 
whom  you  may  choose  among  your  crew. 
Should  I  perish,  or  should  the  pirates  board 
this  ship  before  you  return  (in  which  event 
I  cannot  hope  to  escape  with  my  life),  you 
will  convey  this  trust  to  Mr.  Longways,  the 
Company's  agent  at  the  king's  town.  And 
now,  sir,  I  wish  you  God's  speed." 

Mr.  White  was  about  to  reply,  but  I 
checked  him,  telling  him  that  he  could  best 
show  his  regard  for  me  by  leaving  the  ship 
without  further  words. 

We  quitted  my  cabin  together,  and  just 


IO4  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

outside  we  met  Captain  Leach,  whom  I  had 
noticed  repeatedly  for  the  last  half -hour, 
and  never  very  far  away  from  me.  He  came 
directly  towards  Mr.  White  and  me,  but  he 
did  not  so  much  as  glance  at  the  box  that 
Mr.  White  held,  but  spoke  to  me. 

"  I  came  upon  Mistress  Pamela  Boon's 
account,"  said  he.  "  The  women  are  ready 
to  quit  the  ship,  and  Mistress  Ann  is  yet  in 
a  dead  swoon." 

"  I  will  go  to  them,"  said  I ;  and  then 
turning  to  Mr.  White,  I  said,  very  seriously, 
"  Remember !" 

He  did  not  answer,  but  bowed  his  head, 
and  I  turned  and  left  him,  Captain  Leach 
following  close  behind  me.  He  did  not  en- 
ter with  me  into  the  great  cabin,  but  waited 
without,  and  when  I  came  out  a  few  min- 
utes later  I  saw  that  he  was  gone. 

I  found  the  ladies  waiting  in  the  cabin, 
each  with  a  bundle  tied  up  in  a  kerchief. 
The  waiting-woman  lay  upon  the  floor,  still 
in  a  swoon,  with  Mistress  Pamela  kneeling 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  105 

beside  her,  chafing  and  slapping  her  hands, 
whilst  Mrs.  Evans  sat  at  the  table  with  her 
face  buried  in  her  palms.  So  soon  as  I  en- 
tered Mistress  Pamela  arose. 

"  Sir,"  said  she,  "  Captain  Leach  told  me 
he  would  inform  you  that  we  were  ready." 

"So  he  did,  madam,"  said  I,  "and  I  am 
come  to  help  you  embark." 

As  there  was  no  sign  of  the  waiting-wom- 
an's revival  from  her  fit,  I  was  constrained 
to  carry  her  upon  the  deck,  as  I  had  already 
done  from  below. 

The  boat  under  command  of  Mr.  White 
was  already  gone,  for  it  had  taken  several 
minutes  for  me  to  bring  the  women  upon 
deck.  We  stowed  them  into  the  long-boat, 
and  it  pushed  off  immediately  and  was  lost 
in  the  smoke.  We  then  brought  up  the  rest 
of  the  wounded  from'  below,  who  were  those 
who  had  been  most  desperately  hurt  in  the 
action.  These  we  laid  upon  the  deck,  so 
as  to  be  in  readiness  for  lowering  into  the 
boats  so  soon  as  they  should  return. 


io6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

In  the  mean  time  I  had  given  orders  to 
those  not  thus  occupied  with  the  wounded 
to  load  many  of  the  guns,  with  slow-matches 
in  the  breeches  to  burn  from  five  to  ten  min- 
utes. Thus  the  firing  might  be  kept  up  af- 
ter all  had  left  the  ship,  whereby  we  hoped 
that  the  pirates  would  be  stayed  a  while 
from  boarding  and  so  discover  our  absence. 
In  about  ten  minutes  the  gig  returned  with- 
out Mr.  White,  and  the  master's  mate,  who 
was  in  command  in  his  stead,  said  that  he 
had  remained  ashore  with  the  women,  as 
I  had  commanded  him.  In  a  very  little 
while,  the  long-boat  also  returning,  we 
got  all  hands  aboard  and  pushed  off,  the 
guns  still  firing  now  and  then  as  the 
slow-matches  burned  down.  So  we  came 
safe  to  shore,  but  with  no  time  to  spare, 
for  by  the  great  shouts  that  were  present- 
ly raised  we  knew  that  the  pirates  had 
come  aboard  the  Cassandra,  and  in  less 
than  three  minutes  after  the  last  man  had 
quitted  her. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  107 

Not  more  than  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes 
had  been  occupied  in  making  ready  and 
quitting  the  ship.;  for  which  celerity,  and 
for  the  great  coolness  shown  in  this  try- 
ing emergency,  all  praise  is  due  both  to 
the  officers  and  the  men.  The  fight  had 
lasted  for  more  than  four  hours  and  a 
half,  during  which  time  we  had  nine  men 
killed,  among  whom  was  the  third  mate 
above  mentioned,  and  twenty- two  wound- 
ed, three  of  whom  afterwards  died  upon 
the  island. 

Besides  the  clothes  and  valuables  which 
many  had  fetched  away  with  them*  we  had 
also  brought  off  with  us  from  the  ship  a 

*  I  may  say  here  that  I  myself  was  but  poorly 
equipped  in  this  respect,  having  not  only  forgot  my 
watch,  which  I  had  left  hanging  in  my  cabin,  but  being 
also  without  shoes  and  stockings,  which  I  had  stripped 
off  so  that  I  might  more  readily  swim  for  it  if  the  pi- 
rates should  come  aboard  whilst  the  boats  were  gone 
on  their  first  trip  to  the  shore.  At  the  last  moment 
I  was  so  busied  in  supervising  the  lowering  of  the 
wounded  into  the  boats  that  I  did  not  think  of  return- 
ing for  the  one  or  of  securing  the  other. 


io8  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

quantity  of  musquets  and  pistols,  and  a 
dozen  or  more  rounds  of  ammunition  for 
each  able-bodied  man. 

As  soon  as  we  landed  we  plunged  direct- 
ly into  the  thick  brush,  which  there  grew 
close  down  to  the  edge  of  the  beach.  Hav- 
ing thrust  our  way  through  these  thickets 
for  some  distance,  we  found  the  others 
waiting  for  us  at  a  little  open  space  at 
the  base  of  three  palm-trees  which  stood 
about  two  hundred  yards  from  the  shore, 
it  being  then  nigh  to  sunset,  and  with  but 
little  chance  of  the  pirates  following  us  that 
day. 

Mr.  White  was  standing  near  my  passen- 
gers, who  were  gathered  together  in  a  group, 
but  one  of  them  was  missing.  It  was  Cap- 
tain Leach. 

"And  where  is  Captain  Leach  ?"  I  cried, 
looking  directly  at  Mr.  White. 

He  gazed  at  me  in  an  exceedingly  strange 
manner,  and  I  saw  that  he  grew  as  pale  as 
death  to  the  very  lips.  "And  did  he  not 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  109 

come  in  the  boat  with  you,  sir?"  said  he  at 
last,  in  a  low  and  husky  voice. 

At  these  words  a  terrible  fear  came  over 
me.  "  Where  is  the  box  I  gave  you  ?"  I 
cried;  and  seeing  that  he  was  not  like  to 
answer,  repeated  the  question — "  Where  is 
the  box  I  gave  you  ?" 

By  way  of  reply  Mr.  White  fumbled  for  a 
moment  or  two  in  his  waistcoat-pocket,  and 
presently  handed  me  a  scrap  of  paper.  I 
opened  it,  and  tried  to  read,  though  my 
hand  trembled  so  that  I  could  hardly  con- 
trive to  make  out  what  it  was.  But  in  spite 
of  that,  and  the  blurring  of  my  eyesight, 
every  word  and  every  letter  is  stamped  upon 
my  memory  as  upon  a  plate  of  brass. 

It  was  written  as  though  in  mine  own 
handwriting,  and  very  hastily  scrawled,  but 
so  like  that  I  could  not  have  told  it  myself 
had  I  not  known  it  to  be  a  forgery. 

These  were  the  words : 

"Sir, — /  have  altered  my  mind  in  regard  to 
the  box.  Please  deliver  it  to  the  bearer  (Captain 


no  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

Leac/i),  who  will  take  present  charge  of  zV,  and 
will  convey  it  to  me. 

"JOHN  MACKRA." 

As  I  still  held  the  letter  in  my  hand,  gaz- 
ing stupidly  at  it,  but  seeing  nothing,  the 
whole  villany  of  the  business  was,  as  it  were, 
revealed  to  me.  I  saw  that  when  Captain 
Leach  had  left  the  ship  in  the  native  canoe 
two  nights  ago  he  had  come  straight  to  the 
pirates  and  had  made  some  bargain  with 
them  for  that  accursed  Rose  of  Paradise ; 
that  when  he  had  gone  aboard  the  Greenwich 
and  the  Ostender  the  next  day,  it  was  not  to 
secure  a  passage  for  himself,  but  rather  to  per- 
suade them  to  sacrifice  the  Cassandra,  and 
so  save  their  own  wretched  hulks ;  that  when 
he  had  sent  me  to  the  women  in  the  great 
cabin  it  was  to  get  rid  of  me  so  that  he 
might  tamper  with  Mr.  White ;  and  last  of 
all,  that  he  had  kept  this  forged  letter  about 
him  for  just  such  an  occasion  as  this.  Then 
I  thought  of  my  shipmates  killed  and  wound- 
ed, of  my  vessel  and  cargo  lost,  of  all  these 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  in 

poor  people  outcasts  upon  this  savage,  des- 
ert coast,  with  no  present  prospect  or  hope 
of  help,  and  of  the  stone  itself  thus  cheated 
out  of  my  hands  at  the  last  moment,  and 
after  all  the  suffering  and  the  blood  that 
had  been  shed.  There  came  a  great  roar- 
ing in  mine  ears,  all  things  began  to  reel 
before  my  sight,  a  dark  cloud  seemed  to 
encompass  me,  and  then  I  knew  nothing 
more. 


X. 

AFTER  I  had  thus  swooned  away,  which 
happened  both  from  the  fever  of  my  wound 
and  the  loss  of  blood,  there  followed  a  long 
time  during  which  everything  was  confused 
and  dream-like.  I  may  call  to  mind  what 
seemed  to  me  a  great  and  toilsome  journey, 
but  so  commingled  with  the  visions  of  my 
fever  that  I  knew  not  whether  it  had  taken 
hours,  days,  or  weeks,  and  of  which  I  may 
remember  almost  nothing.  After  that  I 
have  a  memory  of  tossing  upon  a  pallet 
which  was  both  rough  and  hard,  of  a  dark- 
ened and  silent  room,  and  of  people  coming 
and  going  and  talking  in  whispers.  Then 
one  morning  I  awoke  as  though  from  a  deep 
sleep,  and  felt  that  the  heat  of  the  fever  had 
left  me,  though  mightily  weak  and  weary. 
This  awakening  must  have  happened  be- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  nj 

twixt  four  and  five  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
for  the  mat  which  hung  at  the  door  had 
been  raised,  and  a  cool  and  refreshing  breeze 
swept  through  the  mud  hut. 

I  lay  for  a  long  time  looking  out  of  the 
door  towards  which  my  couch  was  facing, 
and  through  which  I  could  see  hillocks  of 
gray  sand  intermingled  with  rich  and  luxu- 
riant vegetation ;  beyond,  the  rim  of  the 
ocean  stretched  like  a  black  thread  against 
the  gray  sky.  I  gave  no  thought  to  any- 
thing, but  lay  quite  still,  feeling  mighty 
peaceful  and  quiet.  By-and-by  I  turned 
mine  eyes  and  saw  that  some  one  sat  beside 
me,  and  that  it  was  Mr.  White.  He  did  not 
see  that  I  was  observing  him,  but  sat  read- 
ing his  Bible,  for  he  was  a  young  man  of 
great  earnestness  of  spirit.  The  sight  of 
him  brought  first  one  thing  and  then  an- 
other back  to  my  memory,  until  the  whole 
was  complete  as  I  have  told  it. 

"  Mr.  White,"  said  I.  I  spoke  very  quiet- 
ly, but  he  could  not  have  started  more  vio- 
8 


ii  4.  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

lently  had  a  clap  of  thunder  sounded  from 
the  sky.  He  came  straight  to  me,  and  laid 
his  hand  upon  my  forehead.  "  Yes,"  said  I, 
making  shift  to  smile, "  the  fever  has  left  me 
now ;  and  will  you  tell  me  where  I  am  ?" 

"  Sir,"  says  he,  "  you  are  safe,  and  in  the 
king's  town ;  and  now  I  will  go  and  tell  the 
surgeon  of  the  bettering  of  your  condition." 
So  saying  he  left  me,  and  Mr.  Greenacre, 
the  surgeon,  presently  came  to  me.  He 
told  me  that  all  hands  had  been  brought 
safe  to  the  king's  town;  that  I  might  set 
my  mind  at  rest  both  regarding  the  passen- 
gers and  the  crew ;  and  that  I  must  not  now 
talk  further,  but  should  seek  to  rest  myself, 
which  was  very  necessary  for  me  to  do  in 
my  present  condition.  Nor  was  I  inclined 
to  disobey  this  command,  but  presently 
closed  mine  eyes  and  fell  into  a  most  re- 
freshing slumber,  from  which  I  did  not 
awake  until  nigh  sunset,  when  I  found  that 
Mr.  White  was  once  more  beside  me.  When 
he  saw  that  I  was  awake  he  made  as  if  he 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  115 

would  again  go  and  call  the  surgeon,  but  I 
stopped  him  from  doing  as  he  intended. 

"  Stay,  Mr.  White,"  said  I.  "  I  should  like 
now  to  know  something  more  of  what  has 
happened.  How  long  have  I  been  lying  in 
this  condition  ?" 

"About  six  days,  sir,"  said  he.  And  then, 
in  a  trembling  voice,  "  Oh,  Captain  Mackra, 
can  you  forgive  me  for  the  injury  I  have 
done  ?" 

"  Why,  sir,"  said  I,  "  I  have  nothing  to 
forgive,  nor  have  you  done  anything  for 
which  to  beseech  forgiveness.  What  you 
did  you  did  with  the  best  intent;  nor  can 
I  blame  you  for  being  so  deceived  by  such 
a  wicked  and  cunning  villain  as  Captain 
Leach.  And  now  tell  me,  what  news  is 
there  of  the  pirates  ?"  To  this  he  answered 
that  they  were  still  lying  at  anchor  in  the 
bay  on  the  east  side  of  the  island,  repairing 
the  damages  which  we  had  wrought;  that 
the  chief  or  them  was  one  Edward  England, 
a  fellow  of  great  note  among  these  wicked 


n6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

villains ;  that  they  had  been  so  enraged  at 
that  bloody  fight,  which  had  cost  them  so 
dear,  that  they  had  set  a  reward  of  two  thou- 
sand pounds  upon  my  head;  and  that  the 
king  of  the  island  had  offered  us  his  protec- 
tion, and  had  undertaken  to  guard  us  se- 
curely from  any  attack  the  pirates  might  be 
inclined  to  make  against  us.  But,  neverthe- 
less, lest  any  of  the  natives  should  be  of  a 
mind  to  betray  me  for  this  great  and  mag- 
nificent reward,  it  had  been  deemed  best 
that  it  should  be  reported  that  I  had  been 
killed  in  the  late  engagement. 

After  having  recounted  these  things  as 
briefly  as  possible,  Mr.  White  again  went  in 
search  of  the  surgeon,  who  soon  came,  and 
put  a  very  cheerful  face  upon  my  case, which 
he  said  was  now  without  doubt  upon  the 
mend. 

After  having  eaten  a  very  hearty  supper 
of  rich  and  savory  broth,  I  was  so  far  re- 
freshed as  to  be  able  to  receive  some  few 
who  particularly  desired  to  have  speech  with 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  117 

me,  and  who  were  presently  ushered  in  by 
Mr.  Greenacre. 

The  first  to  come  was  my  former  ac- 
quaintance, Mr.  Longways,  the  Company's 
agent,  and  with  him  a  great  tall  native  chief, 
who  had  rather  the  appearance  of  a  Malay 
than  an  African  negro,  and  who  was  none 
other  than  King  Kulakula  himself.  With 
these  two  came  a  black  interpreter  from 
Mozambique,  for  King  Coffee  could  not 
speak  one  single  word  of  English,  but  only 
a  little  Dutch,  which  he  had  picked  up  from 
the  traders  along  the  coast. 

After  them  came  the  two  ladies,  escorted 
by  Mr.  Langely,  who  had  now  so  far  recov- 
ered from  his  wound  as  to  be  able  to  be 
about  with  ease,  although  he  still  carried  his 
arm  in  a  sling. 

Mrs.  Evans,  when  she  saw  me,  gushed  into 
tears,  but  Mistress  Pamela  came  straight  to 
me,  took  my  hand,  and  set  it  to  her  lips, 
though  I  strove  my  best  to  stay  her  from 
doing  so. 


n8  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

"  Sir,"  said  she, "  what  do  we  not  owe  to 
our  brave  preserver,  who  hath  brought  us 
safe  through  all  this  great  trouble !" 

"  No,  madam,"  cried  I,  hastily,  for  I  could 
not  bear  that  she  should  lay  credit  to  me, 
who  had  so  little  earned  it,  seeing  how  help- 
less I  had  been  in  bringing  them  safe  off 
from  the  Cassandra — "  no,  madam,  give  no 
credit  to  me ;  give  it  first  of  all  to  God,  and 
then  to  Mr.  Langely,  who,  though  so  sorely 
wounded,  brought  you,  I  understand,  safe 
through  the  wilderness  to  this  place." 

After  they  had  so  spoken,  comes  King 
Kulakula  forward  with  the  interpreter,  and 
through  the  black  man  expressed  many  kind 
and  condescending  wishes  for  the  continued 
bettering  of  my  condition.  He  furthermore 
gave  me  every  assurance  that  we  should  all 
be  protected  from  our  enemies  so  long  as 
we  chose  to  remain  at  that  place. 

After  a  little  while  my  visitors  left  me,  ex- 
cept Mr.  Longways,  who,  by  permission  of 
the  surgeon,  remained  behind  to  exchange 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  //p 

a  few  words  with  me.  I  then  observed  for 
the  first  time  how  sadly  different  he  was  in 
his  appearance  from  what  he  had  been ;  for 
the  jauntiness  of  his  carriage  was  gone,  and 
he  looked  mightily  perturbed  in  his  spirits. 
So  soon  as  he  had  made  sure  that  no  one 
was  by  to  overhear  us,  he  began  without  pref- 
ace to  talk  about  the  Rose  of  Paradise,  say- 
ing that  Mr.  White  had  told  him  that  it  had 
been  lost,  and  also  some  details  of  the  mat- 
ter; that  that  loss  meant  ruin  to  him,  who 
could  say  no  word  in  his  own  defence  ex- 
cepting by  letter,  while  I  had  every  oppor- 
tunity of  stating  my  case  in  my  own  fashion 
to  the  East  India  Company  when  I  should 
come  home,  and  so  clear  myself  and  leave 
him  in  the  mire.  But  in  spite  of  that  it  was 
his  opinion  that  even  I,  with  all  these  ad- 
vantages in  my  favor,  would  have  great  trou- 
ble in  making  matters  straight;  for  the  loss 
of  three  hundred  thousand  pounds,  besides 
my  ship  and  cargo,  was  a  thing  that  was  not 
likely  to  be  passed  over  very  lightly,. 


I2O  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  could  hardly  forbear  smiling  at  this  dis- 
course, although  it  was  of  such  a  serious 
nature,  for  it  seemed  very  strange  to  me 
that  Mr.  Longways  should  so  readily  sus- 
pect me  of  being  disposed  to  ruin  him. 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I  know  not  what  you 
would  do  in  such  a  case  as  this,  but  I  tell 
you  plain  that  if  I  am  compelled  to  make 
an  unfortunate  report  to  the  East  India 
Company,  I  will  make  it  without  blaming 
you  or  myself  or  any  one,  but  simply  tell  the 
truth,  and  so  let  them  adjudge  the  matter  as 
they  see  fit." 

"  That  is  it,  sir,"  cried  he—"  that  is  it,  sir. 
If  the  Company  are  informed  that  I  be- 
trayed this  important  secret  to  Captain 
Leach,  I'll  have  to  whistle  for  it  a  long  time 
out  in  the  cold  before  I  get  a  snug  berth 
with  them  again." 

"  I  am  mightily  sorry  for  you,"  said  I, 
gravely.  "  But  of  course,  sir,  that  is  a  mat- 
ter concerning  which  you  alone  are  respon- 
sible. Nevertheless,  I  must  tell  you  that  I 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  121 

am  not  inclined  to  leave  this  place  without 
endeavoring  to  recover  that  which  has  been 
so  unfortunately  lost" 

"  What,  sir !"  he  cried ;  "  do  you  mean  to 
say  that  you  will  undertake  to  recover  the 
Rose  of  Paradise  again  ?  And  how  do  you 
purpose  doing  it,  may  I  ask  ?" 

"  You  may  ask,  sir,"  says  I,  smiling ;  "  but 
as  for  my  telling  you,  why,  that  is  a  very 
different  matter." 

Yet  I  had  determined  upon  one  point  al- 
most as  soon  as  Mr.  White  had  informed 
me  who  was  the  pirate  captain  into  whose 
hands  the  Cassandra  had  fallen,  and  that 
was  to  go  aboard  of  the  pirate  craft,  and  to 
speak  with  Captain  Edward  England  him- 
self. I  had  known  him  before  he  had  en- 
tered into  the  nefarious  life  which  he  now 
followed,  and  while  he  was  still  first  mate 
of  the  Lady  Alice.  I  was  then  with  Cap- 
tain Wraxel  in  the  West  Indies,  and  had 
met  England  at  Kingston,  in  the  island  of 
Jamaica,  upon  which  occasion  he  had  ap- 


122  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

peared  to  conceive  quite  a  liking  for  me, 
though  I  cannot  say  it  was  returned  in 
kind.  I  knew  him  as  a  wild  and  reckless 
blade,  but  neither  blood-thirsty  nor  cruel, 
and  making  every  allowance  for  the  change 
in  his  nature  which  this  wicked  life  might 
effect,  I  did  not  believe  that  injury  would 
happen  to  me  if  I  could  once  gain  his  prom- 
ise of  safety  in  visiting  his  ship. 

As  for  the  jewel,  I  did  not  believe  that 
Captain  Leach  would  disclose  the  secret  of 
it  without  he  had  been  compelled  to  do  so ; 
wherefore,  if  he  had  it  still  in  his  own  keep- 
ing, I  entertained  a  hope  that  I  might  by 
some  trick  or  other  snatch  the  precious 
stone  away  from  him  again.  In  that  event 
I  did  not  believe  he  would  say  anything,  for 
fear  that  the  pirates  might  punish  him  for 
keeping  it  a  secret  from  them. 

But  although  I  could  perceive,  as  Mr. 
Longways  had  said,  that  it  was  of  great 
importance  both  to  his  future  and  mine 
own  that  the  Rose  of  Paradise  should  be  re- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  123 

gained,  I  ventured  my  life  not  so  much  in 
the  hope  of  obtaining  the  stone  as  of  pro- 
curing some  means  by  which  all  hands 
might  be  able  to  quit  the  island;  for  we — 
and  more  especially  the  women — could  not 
but  be  in  constant  danger  from  the  bloody 
wretches  thirsting  for  revenge  on  account 
of  the  check  which  we  of  the  Cassandra 
had  lately  put  upon  them.  Wherefore  I 
thought  it  best  that  I  should  boldly  visit 
the  pirate  captain,  for  I  had  great  hopes  of 
being  able  to  persuade  him  to  allow  us  to 
escape,  and  even  of  procuring  from  him 
some  means  to  that  end. 

In  any  case,  the  venture  could  not  but  be 
of  advantage  to  us,  for  even  if  I  should  per- 
ish, their  revenge  might  thereby  be  satisfied, 
and  they  might  depart  without  molesting 
the  rest  of  the  ship's  company,  for  they  were 
pleased  to  regard  me  as  the  chief  cause  of 
all  their  mishaps  in  the  late  engagement. 

Before  I  dared  venture  aboard  the  pirate 
craft  it  was  necessary  that  I  should  first 


124  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

write  a  letter  to  the  captain,  and  also  that 
I  should  have  a  trustworthy  person  to  con- 
vey my  communication  to  him ;  nor  did  I 
give  two  thoughts  to  this  matter,  for  com- 
mon justice  pointed  to  Mr.  White  as  the 
only  fitting  one  to  be  my  messenger;  ac- 
cordingly I  sent  for  him,  and  he  soon  came. 
I  told  him  that  I  desired  to  open  communi- 
cation with  the  pirate  captain  upon  a  mat- 
ter of  great  importance,  and  that  I  gave  him 
this  opportunity  towards  redeeming  his  self- 
respect  by  conveying  my  message  to  Cap- 
tain England.  Nor  have  I  ever  seen  a  man 
more  grateful  than  Mr.  White  upon  this 
occasion ;  two  or  three  times  he  strove  to 
speak,  and  when  he  did  contrive  to  do  so  it 
was  only  simply  to  say,  "  Sir,  I  thank  you." 
The  surgeon  having  given  me  permission, 
I  wrote  my  letter,  and  Mr.  White  took  it  that 
very  night,  having  no  companion  with  him 
but  two  natives  who  acted  as  guides.  I  have 
a  copy  of  the  letter,  made  at  the  time,  which 
runs  as  follows : 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  125 

"  To  Captain  Edward  England  : 

"  Sir, — /  write  you  this  in  a  most  forlorn  and 
distressing  situation. 

"  Having  defended  ourselves,  our  ship,  and  those 
intrusted  to  our  keeping,  from  you,  who  sought  to 
encompass  our  destruction  by  all  means  in  your 
power,  we  now  find  ourselves  reduced  to  the  neces- 
sity of  imploring  aid  from  you,  who  so  lately  sought 
our  lives.  Nor  would  we  even  yet  ask  anything 
from  you  were  it  not  for  three  poor  and  helpless 
women,  whose  safety  here  is  a  matter  of  uncer- 
tainty from  day  to  day,  and  who,  without  aid  is 
extended  to  them,  may  perish  miserably  in  this 
desolate  and  savage  land. 

"  Sir,  though  a  wild  and  ungoverned  nature,  I 
never  knew  you  to  be  a  cruel  man  ;  therefore  I  ask 
this  aid  of  you  for  the  sake  of  these  three  women. 

"  Furthermore,  I  ask  that  you  do  not  hastily  re- 
fuse this  plea  for  aid,  but  may  allow  me  to  come 
aboard  of  your  craft  and  speak  to  you  in  person. 

"  /  know  that  there  is  with  you  one  who  is  mine 
enemy,  because  of  a  great  injury  which  he  hath 
done  me,  and  who  will  no  doubt  conspire  against 
my  life — /  mean  Captain  Leach,  lately  one  of  my 
passengers,  and  who,  I  suspect,  along  with  others, 
betrayed  us  into  your  hands.  But  although  I  be- 


126  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

lieve  he  would  seek  my  life,  yet  I  am  willing  to 
trust  it  into  your  hands  if  you  will  promise  me 
safety  in  my  coming  and  my  going. 

"  Sir,  I  beseech  you  to  grant  me  this  speech  with 
you,  that  I  may  plead  the  cause  of  the  weak  and 
helpless,  and  am,  sir, 

"  Your  very  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  MACKRA." 


XI. 

MR.  WHITE  was  only  gone  for  a  little 
more  than  two  days,  and  when  he  returned 
he  brought  with  him  a  letter  from  the  pirate 
captain.  The  communication  ran  thus : 

"  To  Captain  John  Mackra,  late  of  the  '  Cassan- 
dra :' 

"  Sir, — If  you  choose  to  risk  your  life  by  com- 
ing hither,  devil  a  word  have  I  to  say  against  it. 
They're  a  wild  set  of  blades  under  me,  and  mind 
the  helm  no  better  than  a  wasliing-tub,  so  that  my 
orders  have  little  or  no  weight  with  them.  All  the 
same,  if  you're  the  man  to  come  aboard,  and  have 
the  courage  to  face  the  matter  out,  I'll  do  what  I 
can  to  see  that  no  harm  happens  to  you.  But  if 
you  II  take  a  friend's  advice  you  II  stay  where  you 
are,  and  let  a  bad  matter  cure  itself,  for  you  know 
very  well  that  tliere  is  no  use  splicing  a  rotten  rope. 
As  for  the  pickle  you  re  in,  lay  tfiat  to  your  luck, 
and  not  to  me. 

"EDWARD  ENGLAND." 


128  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  was  none  too  well  pleased  with  this  pre- 
cious epistle,  for  I  could  see  very  readily 
how  little  command  Captain  England  held 
upon  the  wretches  under  him.  Neverthe- 
less, it  did  not  alter  my  determination  to 
to  go  aboard  of  the  pirate  craft  and  to  speak 
with  him.  I  was  the  more  inclined  to  do 
this  as  I  felt  well  assured  that  the  pirates 
could  not  now  be  as  hot  for  my  blood  as 
they  had  been  at  first. 

It  was  necessary  for  me  to  get  away  from 
the  king's  town  without  confiding  my  de- 
termination to  any  one,  or  any  one  having 
knowledge  of  my  departure,  for  I  knew  very 
well  that  there  was  not  one  of  my  officers 
but  would  have  stayed  me  from  acting  on 
my  plans  had  they  been  informed  of  them, 
even  if  they  should  find  it  needful  to  use 
force  to  prevent  my  going. 

It  was  the  evening  of  the  eighth  day  since 
the  fight  when  Mr.  White  returned  with 
Captain  England's  letter,  and  I  determined 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  129 

that  that  very  night  should  witness  my  de- 
parture upon  my  enterprise,  which  to  one 
looking  coolly  upon  it  might  seem  little  if 
any  better  than  the  frantic  act  of  a  mad- 
man. Nor  was  it  that  I  myself  was  uncon- 
scious of  the  magnitude  of  these  dangers, 
for  I  entered  upon  them  only  because  that 
in  the  desperate  state  of  our  necessities  I 
could  see  no  other  course  out  of  our  dif- 
ficulties, and  so  had  to  choose  this  for  lack 
of  a  better.  Accordingly,  as  said  above,  I 
determined  to  set  out  that  very  night,  for 
nothing  could  be  gained  by  further  delay. 

There  was  no  other  choice  left  me  but  to 
make  my  way  along  the  beach,  which,  al- 
though it  would  increase  the  distance  by 
five  or  six  miles,  would  yet  afford  me  a 
sound  and  level  highway  for  my  journey- 
ing, the  sand  being  firm  and  hard  when  the 
water  was  out  at  low  tide. 

That  night  I  wrote  a  lengthy  letter  to 
Mr.  Langely,  giving  him  full  particulars  as 
to  what  I  was  about  to  undertake,  and  also 
9 


ijo  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

instructions  as  to  how  he  should  proceed  in 
the  event  of  my  not  returning  from  my  ad- 
venture. I  also  wrote  my  will,  and  settled 
all  my  affairs  as  well  as  I  was  able.  This 
took  until  nigh  midnight. 

All  this  I  managed  to  do  without  the 
knowledge  of  any  one,  and  by  the  light  of  a 
little  wick  floating  in  a  dish  of  oil,  the  flame 
of  which  I  kept  so  well  shaded  that  no  one 
perceived  it  in  all  that  time. 

About  one  o'clock  I  came  out  from  my 
hut,  and  found  the  stars  shining  most  beau- 
tifully in  the  sky,  and  all  the  air  full  of  the 
noises  of  the  night.  I  did  not  tarry,  how- 
ever, but  walked  straight  to  the  beach,  and 
along  it  towards  the  northern  end  of  the 
island,  around  which  and  beyond  the  cape 
I  knew  the  bay  to  lie,  about  ten  leagues  dis- 
tant from  the  king's  town. 

I  had  only  been  twice  upon  my  feet  since 
the  fever  had  left  me,  and  found  that  I  was 
far  more  weak  than  I  had  supposed  myself 
to  be,  so  that  I  had  to  rest  myself  at  fre- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

quent  intervals.  However,  I  managed  to 
cover  some  ten  miles  of  my  journey  by 
about  six  o'clock  in  the  morning,  by  which 
time  I  was  so  exhausted  that  I  could  go 
no  farther,  but  had  to  lie  down  under  the 
shade  of  the  bushes  and  rest  myself  for  a 
long  time. 

I  speak  of  these  things  to  show  why  it 
was  that  my  journey  should  have  occupied 
nigh  upon  two  days,  for  it  was  not  until  the 
afternoon  of  the  second  day  that  I  came 
within  sight  of  a  boat,  drawn  up  on  the 
beach,  which  I  knew  to  belong  to  the  pi- 
rates, and  from  which  the  crew  had  gone 
into  the  thickets,  either  to  search  for  game 
or  for  water. 

I  had  eaten  nothing  all  that  day,  for  I 
had  not  thought  that  my  journey  would 
have  taken  me  so  long,  and  I  did  not  care 
to  burden  myself  with  any  more  food  than 
necessary.  So  I  was  glad  to  see  the  boat, 
not  only  being  very  weary,  but  also  having 
my  feet  so  badly  blistered  by  the  unwonted 


132  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

exposure  to  the  hot  sun  on  the  bare  sand 
that  it  was  only  with  pain  that  I  could  take 
a  single  step. 

As  I  drew  nigh,  two  fellows  who  had  been 
lying  in  the  shade  upon  the  further  side 
sprang  to  their  feet  and  hailed  me. 

"Who  are  you?"  says  one  of  them — a 
great  black-bearded  fellow  with  a  dirty  yel- 
low handkerchief  tied  around  his  head,  a 
ragged  scarf  about  his  loins,  a  brace  of  pis- 
tols hanging  from  a  leathern  belt,  and  a 
dirty  shirt  opened  at  the  breast,  showing  a 
hairy  throat  and  chest. 

"  I  am  Captain  John  Mackra,"  said  I,  and 
I  sat  down  upon  the  gunwale  of  the  boat, 
for  I  could  go  no  farther. 

"  The  devil  you  are !"  says  he,  and  he 
stared  at  me  from  top  to  toe  as  though  I 
had  been  some  strange  creature  the  like  of 
which  he  had  never  beheld  before.  Then, 
without  another  word,  he  put  his  fingers  to 
his  lips  and  gave  a  great,  long,  shrill  whistle. 
I  presently  heard  a  great  crackling  in  the 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  /jj 

bushes  and  the  noise  of  loud  voices,  and 
soon  there  burst  out  of  the  thickets  six  or 
eight  great,  bearded,  dirty,  villanous  rascals, 
who  came  running  down  to  the  boat,  hav- 
ing caught  sight  of  me,  and  knowing  me  to 
be  a  stranger.  "  It's  Captain  Leach,"  said  the 
one  of  the  pirates  who  had  not  yet  spoken 
— a  young  fellow  of  not  more  than  twenty. 

Some  of  those  who  had  just  come  had 
been  drinking,  as  could  be  very  plainly  seen 
from  the  way  in  which  they  acted.  One  of 
them  was  for  killing  me  off-hand,  and  I  veri- 
ly believe  would  have  done  so,  in  spite  of  all 
that  the  others  could  do  or  say,  had  not  an- 
other of  them  knocked  him  down  with  an 
oar  with  such  a  blow  that  I  thought  at  first 
the  fellow  had  been  killed  outright. 

After  that  they  bound  me  hand  and  foot, 
and  chucked  me  into  the  stern-sheets  of  the 
boat  along  with  the  fellow  who  had  been 
knocked  down  by  the  oar,  and  who  lay  with- 
out life  or  motion,  as  though  neither  were 
of  more  account  than  so  much  old  junk. 


134  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

After  that  they  shoved  off  from  the  beach 
in  the  direction  of  my  old  craft  the  Cassan- 
dra, which  rode  at  anchor  about  a  mile  and 
a  half  or  two  miles  away. 

The  boat  had  hardly  come  alongside  when 
the  news  of  my  coming  ran  fore  and  aft  like 
a  train  of  powder.  They  hoisted  me  upon 
deck  and  laid  me  just  aft  of  the  main-mast, 
whilst  a  great  crowd  gathered  round  me 
and  stared  at  me,  some  of  them  grinning 
and  some  of  them  cursing  me. 

Most  of  them  were  more  or  less  in  liquor, 
and  it  was  this  circumstance  that  came  nigh 
to  costing  me  my  life,  and  this  was  how  it 
happened : 

One  great  fellow  with  a  dreadful  scar 
across  his  face  gave  me  a  kick  in  the  loins 
which  I  thought  at  first  had  finished  me, 
and  for  no  cause  that  I  could  see  but  that 
he  was  drunk  and  in  a  savage  humor.  One 
or  two  of  them  sang  out  to  him  not  to  kill 
me  just  then,  but  he  made  no  answer  except 
by  aiming  another  kick  at  my  head,  which 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  135 

I  warded  off  with  my  arm  so  that  it  did  me 
little  or  no  harm.  He  drew  back  his  foot 
for  another  blow,  but  just  then  an  iron  be- 
laying-pin  came  whizzing  through  the  air 
and  struck  the  fellow  in  the  jaw,  knocking 
him  down  upon  the  deck  as  though  he  had 
been  shot. 

I  turned  mine  eyes  and  saw  that  it  was 
Captain  England  himself  who  had  struck 
the  blow. 

"  Look  'ee,"  says  he,  "  we'll  have  none  of 
this ;  if  killing  is  to  be  done,  it  is  to  be  done 
lawyer-like.  He's  come  aboard  himself,  and 
if  he's  to  be  killed  he's  to  be  killed  after  his 
trial,  and  not  before." 

There  was  a  moment  or  two  of  pause,  for 
Captain  England  had  drawn  a  brace  of  pis- 
tols, and  held  one  cocked  in  either  hand ; 
but  just  then  up  stepped  a  fellow  who  it  was 
very  plain  to  see  was  of  some  account 
amongst  them,  for  his  clothes  were  of  rich 
stuff,  and  he  had  a  gold  chain  with  a  cross 
slung  around  his  neck,  and  golden  ear-rings 


fj6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

in  his  ears.  He  walked  up  to  England  un- 
til he  stood  face  to  face  with  him. 

"  Look  'ee,  Ned  England,"  says  he,  "  what 
I've  got  to  say  is  this:  you're  carrying 
things  with  too  high  a  hand  to  suit  us  easy- 
going fellows.  D'ye  think  you're  king  or 
emperor,  and  that  we're  nigger  slaves,  that 
you  knock  us  about  as  it  suits  your  humor  ?" 

I  had  expected  that  England  would  have 
shot  the  fellow  down  where  he  stood,  but 
he  stayed  his  hand,  and  by  the  muttering 
of  the  rest  I  knew  that  the  speaker  carried 
most  of  them  with  him. 

"  Look  'ee,  now,"  says  he,  more  boldly, 
"  didn't  we  choose  you  for  our  captain  our- 
selves? And  here  you  knock  us  around 
with  belaying- pins  as  though  you  owned 
every  man  of  us ;  and  all  for  what  ?  Why, 
for  giving  this  here  precious  sea-captain  an 
innocent  kick  or  two  for  all  of  the  good 
fellows  he's  sent  to  h — 11  since  ten  days  ago. 
What  I  say  is,  hang  him  up  to  the  yard- 
arm  ;"  and  he  fetched  me  a  terrible  kick  in 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  ij/ 

the  side  without  taking  his  eyes  from  his 
captain's  face. 

At  this  time,  although  I  heard  what  was 
said,  I  thought  but  little  of  what  was  pass- 
ing about  me,  my  mind  being  beclouded 
with  my  weakness  and  my  pains,  for  I  had 
wellnigh  swooned  from  the  agony  of  those 
two  kicks  upon  my  flank  and  loins.  There- 
fore I  lay  with  mine  eyes  shut,  feeling  death- 
ly sick  and  faint. 

A  time  of  silence  followed,  though  how 
long  it  might  be  I  could  not  exactly  tell. 
Then  I  heard  Captain  England  speak,  the 
words  coming  to  my  ears  as  though  from  a 
great  distance,  because  of  my  condition. 

"  D — n  you,  Burke,  what  do  I  care  for  the 
fellow  ?  If  you  want  the  man's  life,  take  it !" 
and  I  knew  that  he  swung  upon  his  heel 
and  walked  away. 


XII. 

I  COULD  not  at  that  minute  see  that  any- 
thing stood  between  me  and  death,  for  the 
pirates  were  so  bent  upon  my  immediate 
destruction  that  they  set  about  getting  ready 
a  line  to  hang  me  up  without  more  ado. 

Yet  though  I  had  cause  to  apprehend 
that  the  very  next  moment  would  be  my 
last  upon  earth,  the  dread  of  death  was  in 
no  wise  keen  upon  me,  for  in  my  half-swoon 
I  lay  as  one  in  a  dream,  and  neither  saw  nor 
heard  very  clearly  the  preparations  they 
were  making  for  my  destruction,  and  so  was 
mercifully  spared  that  pain.  But  God  in 
His  great  mercy  determined  it  otherwise 
than  was  the  intention  of  these  wicked  men, 
for  just  at  that  moment  some  one  forward 
began  bawling  out,  in  a  great  hoarse  voice, 
"  Where  is  Jack  Mackra  ?  Where  is  he,  I 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  139 

say  ?     Show   him   to  me ! 

ye !  out  of  my  way,  and  let  me  get  at  him !" 
As  I  might  turn  my  head,  I  looked 
whence  my  voice  came,  and  there  saw,  as  in 
a  dream,  a  great,  tall,  lantern -jawed  man, 
with  a  patch  over  one  eye  and  a  crutch  un- 
der his  left  arm.  In  his  right  hand  he  held 
a  long  sharp  knife,  with  which  he  jabbed  at 
those  who  stood  in  his  way,  so  that  they 
were  glad  enough  to  make  room  for  him, 
one  or  two  of  them  cursing  him,  the  others 
grinning  and  laughing  as  though  it  were  all 
a  fine  piece  of  sport.  As  those  around  me 
drew  aside  I  beheld  him  more  plainly;  his 
left  leg  had  been  cut  off  at  the  knee,  he  was 
loose-jointed  and  ungainly,  and  he  had  one 
of  the  most  villanous  countenances  that  it 
was  ever  my  fortune  to  look  into.  I  could 
also  see  that  he,  like  many  of  the  others, 
had  been  drinking.  It  was  very  plain  that 
he  was  a  great  favorite  amongst  the  rest,  for 
they  made  room  for  him  and  took  all  his 
curses  and  many  blows,  which  he  gave  with 


140  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

his  crutch,  without  either  answering  him  or 
striving  to  defend  themselves.  Even  the 
fellow  who  had  spoken  so  boldly  to  the  cap- 
tain's face,  and  whom  I  afterwards  found 
to  be  the  chief  of  the  "  lords,"  as  they  are 
pleased  to  call  those  in  authority  amongst 
them,  grinned  and  stood  aside  as  the  villa- 
nous  cripple  came  and  leaned  over  me. 

"  D — n  you,"  says  he, "  and  is  it  you,  Jack 
Mackra  ?  Then  I  have  a  score  to  pay  you 
that  has  stood  on  the  slate  for  this  many  a 
day." 

He  turned  me  over  upon  my  face  with 
his  crutch,  and  the  next  moment  I  felt  the 
cords  that  tied  my  hands  give  way,  and 
knew  that  they  had  been  cut,  then  my  legs 
and  feet  were  loosened  from  their  lashings, 
and  I  was  a  free  man.  I  heard  the  fellow 
say,  "  Get  up !"  whereupon  I  stood  upon 
my  feet  and  gazed  about  me,  though  my 
brain  still  swam,  and  all  things  appeared 
blurred  and  distorted  to  my  sight,  the  sky 
and  the  sea  and  the  faces  around  me  being 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  141 

all  strangely  mingled  together.  Then  pres- 
ently, as  my  confusion  began  to  fade  away 
from  me,  I  heard  the  one-legged  man  speak- 
ing to  me. 

"And  do  you  know  who  I  am?"  said  he. 

"  No,"  says  I,  at  last  gathering  my  wits  to 
speak ;  "  I  cannot  bring  you  to  mind." 

"Why,"  says  he,  "don't  you  remember 
Jimmy  Ward,  the  cook  aboard  the  Pent- 
broke  Castle — him  as  you  saved  from  five 
drunken  Spanish  devils  over  at  Honduras  ? 
Hey?  don't  you  mind  how  they  had  me 
down  under  the  table,  jabbing  at  me  with 
their  d — d  snickersnees  and  swearing  that 
they  would  cut  the  living  heart  out  of  me  ? 
If  it  hadn't  been  for  you,  it  would  have  been 
all  over  with  Jimmy  Ward  at  that  time." 
He  waited  for  an  answer,  but  as  yet  I  could 
say  nothing.  "  Well,  I  haven't  forgot  it  if 
you  have,"  he  continued ;  "  I  owe  you  a 
good  turn,  and  I'll  pay  it  if  I  have  to  bleed 
for  it." 

Just  then  up  steps  the  fellow  who  had 


142  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

faced  England  so  boldly  a  moment  or  two 
before.  "  Come,  come,  Jimmy,"  says  he,  "  a 
joke's  a  joke,  and  I  can  laugh  as  loud  as 
any;  but  here's  a  man  has  done  us  more 
damage  than  anybody  we've  fell  in  with 
since  we  ran  foul  of  the  Eagle? 

"  Hang  him  up !"  Hang  him  up !"  sang 
out  several  of  those  who  stood  around,  and 
I  verily  believe  the  business  would  have 
gone  against  me,  after  all,  only  for  Captain 
England,  who  must  have  been  near  for  all 
this  time,  and  who  came  to  the  aid  of  the 
cripple.  Both  together,  they  contrived  so 
to  argue  and  talk  and  threaten  the  others 
that  the  end  of  the  matter  was  they  led  me 
off  to  the  captain's  cabin,  the  one  on  one 
side  of  me  and  the  other  on  the  other,  whilst 
the  crowd  followed  behind,  though  they 
came  no  further  than  the  door,  which  was 
clapped  to  in  their  faces. 

"  You've  had  a  narrow  miss  of  it,"  says 
England,  so  soon  as  we  were  come  fairly 
within  and  had  sat  down,  "and  you've  no- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

body  to  thank  for  it  but  yourself,  for  if  you'd 
minded  what  I  told  you  you'd  have  staid 
where  you  were  and  let  your  bad  luck  sail 
her  own  craft  without  putting  your  hand  to 
the  helm.  Even  yet  I  don't  know  if  we'll 
be  able  to  get  you  off,  for  Tom  Burke  is 
hot  for  your  blood,  and  will  get  it  if  he's 
able." 

"  That  he  will,"  says  Ward;  "for  he's  not 
the  man  to  give  up  what  he's  laid  his  hand 
to." 

"  Have  you  had  anything  to  eat  ?"  said 
England,  presently. 

"  Not  since  five  o'clock  this  morning," 
said  I. 

"  Why,"  said  he,  "  you'll  have  to  be  fed, 
whether  they  hang  you  or  no."  Whereupon 
he  fetched  out  from  a  locker  a  great  lot  of 
biscuit  and  a  decanter  of  the  very  port-wine 
with  which  I  had  entertained  Mr.  Long- 
ways when  he  came  aboard  the  Cassandra 
with  The  Rose  of  Paradise ;  nor  have  I  ever 
tasted  food  that  was  more  refreshing  than 


///  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

that  which  I  then  ate,  for  I  was  wellnigh 
exhausted  with  hunger. 

No  one  spoke  for  a  while,  and  England 
walked  up  and  down  the  cabin  with  his 
hands  clasped  behind  his  back.  During  all 
this  time  I  had  been  looking  around  me, 
and  of  a  sudden  my  heart  seemed  to  leap 
into  my  throat,  for  in  the  corner  of  the 
cabin,  lying  amongst  a  lot  of  litter,  where  it 
seemed  to  have  been  flung  as  of  no  account, 
I  saw  the  iron  despatch-box. 

My  danger  had  been  so  great  and  my 
mind  in  such  a  maze  for  all  this  time  that 
there  had  been  no  room  in  my  brain  for 
other  matters,  the  very  objects  of  my  ad- 
venture having  been  forgotten  for  a  while ; 
but  with  the  sight  of  this  everything  came 
back  to  me  with  a  rush,  and  I  wondered  for 
the  first  time  that  I  had  not  yet  seen  my 
betrayer. 

"Where  is  Captain  Leach?"  said  I  to 
England. 

He  stopped  short   in  his  walk,  and  re- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  14$ 

garded  me  with  a  very  strange  expression, 
which  at  the  time  I  could  in  no  wise  under- 
stand. 

"  Why,"  says  he,  presently,  "  he  was  shot 
— shot  by  accident  —  when  we  first  came 
aboard  of  this  here  craft  after  you  left 
her." 

I  sat  silent  for  a  great  long  time  after 
this,  nor  could  I  think  of  one  word  to  say, 
for  of  all  the  things  which  my  mind  had 
forecasted,  this  was  the  very  furthest  from 
my  imaginings.  So  I  sat  staring  at  the  pi- 
rate captain,  who,  upon  his  part,  sat  gazing 
back  again  at  me,  answering  my  look  with 
a  grin.  I  had  been  well  assured  that  Cap- 
tain Leach  had  stolen  the  jewel,  but  was  it 
possible  that  I  had  misjudged  him  in  sus- 
pecting that  he  had  betrayed  us  to  the  pi- 
rates, and  that  they,  finding  him  alive  upon 
the  vessel,  whence  he  had  not  had  sufficient 
time  to  escape,  had  thereupon  instantly  mur- 
thered  him,  as  is  their  custom  upon  such 
occasions  ? 


1^.6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

"  And  tell  me  this,"  said  I  at  last,  "  was  it 
through  Captain  Leach's  machinations  that 
we  were  betrayed  into  your  hands  ?" 

"  Why,"  says  he,  "  I  may  tell  you  plain,  if 
I  had  never  met  Captain  Leach  I  should 
never  have  ventured  into  this  harbor  in  the 
face  of  three  armed  vessels  lying  across  the 
channel." 

"  Then  I  was  not  mistaken,"  said  I.  But 
I  dared  ask  no  more  questions,  lest  the  pi- 
rate captain's  suspicions  should  be  aroused, 
for,  from  the  appearance  of  the  despatch- 
box,  which  did  not  yet  seem  to  have  been 
tampered  with,  but  rather  held  as  of  no  ac- 
count whatever,  I  did  not  believe  that  Cap- 
tain Leach  had  betrayed  the  presence  of 
the  jewel  to  the  pirate,  but  rather  had  re- 
served the  secret  for  his  own  advantage, 
which,  indeed,  was  the  most  likely  supposi- 
tion that  could  be  imagined.  If  now  I  could 
but  by  some  means  or  other  contrive  to  find 
opportunity  to  examine  the  box,  I  could 
very  speedily  tell  whether  the  lock  had  been 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  147 

forced ;  which  would,  in  my  estimation,  de- 
cide whether  or  not  the  jewel  was  still  safe 
and  undiscovered. 

Presently  Ward  spoke.  "  And  how,"  said 
he, "  did  you  come  to  get  into  such  a  pickle 
as  I  found  you,  sir  ?" 

I  told  him  the  main  reason  for  my  visit 
in  as  few  words  and  with  as  little  circumlo- 
cution as  possible ;  how  I  had  entertained 
hopes  of  procuring  a  promise  of  safety  for 
my  passengers  and  ship's  crew,  and  even 
possibly  of  obtaining  some  means  of  trans- 
portation from  the  place  where  they  now 
were  to  one  of  greater  ease  and  security. 
Both  men  listened  without  a  word  to  what 
I  said,  and  when  I  had  ended  Ward  pursed 
his  mouth  up  in  a  most  comical  fashion, 
and  gave  a  great  long  whistle,  half  under 
his  breath,  regarding  me  the  while  with  his 
one  eye  as  round  as  a  saucer. 

"  And  do  you  mean  to  say,"  says  he,  "  that 
you,  a  sick  man,  have  gone  and  travelled 
ten  leagues  all  for  to  give  yourself  up  to 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

such  a  gang  of  bloody  cutthroats  as  we 
be?" 

"  Why,  yes,"  says  I ;  "  sure  ten  leagues  is 
not  such  a  long  journey  that  one  need  make 
much  of  a  stir  about  it." 

"  Ten  leagues  be  blowed !"  says  he.  "  Sup- 
pose they  had  shot  you  dead  when  they  had 
found  out  who  you  were ;  what  then  ?" 

"  But  they  did  not  shoot  me,"  said  I. 

"  But  perhaps  they  may  kill  you  yet,"  put 
in  England. 

"  That  matter  is  neither  in  your  hands 
nor  mine,"  said  I. 

Ward  looked  in  a  very  droll  manner,  first 
at  England  and  then  at  me.  "Well,  I'm 
blowed !"  he  said  at  last. 

At  this  Captain  England  burst  into  a 
great  loud  laugh.  "Why,"  says  he,  "it 
would  be  a  vast  pity  to  let  a  man  of  such 
spirit  lose  his  life  after  all.  What  d'ye  say, 
Ward?" 

"  I  say  yes,"  said  Ward,  and  he  thumped 
his  fist  down  on  the  table;  "and  by  the 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

Eternal  he  shall  get  what  he  wants — in  rea- 
son—  Tom  Burke  and  the  devil  notwith- 
standing !" 

"  Come,"  says  England ;  "  come,  Ward, 
we'll  go  and  fetch  Burke  in,  and  see  if  we 
can't  drink  him  into  a  good  humor."  And 
so  saying  both  men  went  out  of  the  cabin, 
shutting  the  door  behind  them.  As  soon 
as  their  backs  were  turned  I  sprang  to 
where  the  despatch-box  lay,  snatched  it  up, 
and  began  eagerly  examining  it.  It  was 
still  securely  locked;  the  lid  had  not  been 
forced,  and  I  could  see  no  marks  of  violence 
upon  it.  But  I  had  just  then  but  short  time 
for  such  an  examination,  for  in  a  little  while 
I  heard  footsteps  outside,  whereupon  I  re- 
placed the  box  where  I  had  found  it  and 
resumed  my  chair,  composing  my  counte- 
nance as  far  as  I  was  able  to  do.  Presently 
I  heard  voices  at  the  door,  and  from  their 
tones  I  could  gather  that  Captain  England 
and  the  crippled  cook  were  trying  to  per- 
suade Burke  to  come  into  the  cabin,  he  be- 


/5<5  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

ing  mightily  unwilling  to  do  so.  For  a 
while  they  held  the  door  ajar,  and  I  could 
hear  Burke  cursing  and  swearing  at  a  great 
rate,  and  calling  Heaven  to  witness  that  he 
would  have  my  life  before  he  was  done  with 
me.  Meantime  the  others  were  busied  in 
talking  to  him,  and  soothing  him,  and  rea- 
soning with  him,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 
No ;  he  would  come  in  and  drink  a  glass  of 
grog  with  them,  if  that  was  what  they  were 
after,  but  he  would  have  my  life  —  yes,  he 
would ;  and  he  was  not  to  be  wheedled  out 
of  his  purpose  by  soft  words  either.  So 
they,  after  a  while,  all  came  into  the  cabin 
and  sat  down  to  the  table,  though  Burke 
never  so  much  as  turned  his  eyes  in  my 
direction. 

Captain  England  brought  out  a  bottle  of 
Jamaica,  which  he  set  upon  the  board,  and 
each  of  the  three  pirates  mixed  himself  a 
glass  of  grog.  Burke  drank  three  or  four 
glasses  of  the  stuff  without  its  seeming  in 
the  least  to  smooth  his  ill -temper.  The 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  151 

cripple  kept  pace  with  him  in  his  drinking, 
at  which  I  was  mightily  anxious,  for  when 
such  bloody  wretches  as  they  become  heated 
with  liquor,  it  is  a  toss  of  a  farthing  whether 
they  murder  a  man  in  their  sport  or  lav- 
ish caresses  upon  him.  However,  I  was 
glad  to  see  that  Captain  England  drank 
but  sparingly,  wherefore  I  entertained  great 
hopes  that  he  would  remain  sufficiently  cool 
to  prevent  any  violence  being  used  against 
me. 

But  I  greatly  doubt  that  my  life  would 
have  been  in  danger  under  any  circum- 
stances, for  after  a  while,  as  Burke  became 
more  warmed  in  his  cups,  his  displeasure 
against  me  became  more  and  more  softened. 
At  first,  without  speaking  directly  to  me, 
he  began,  with  many  imprecations  upon  his 
own  head,  to  say  that  though  he  was  a 
bloody  sea-pirate,  and  a  murderer,  and  a 
thief,  he  knew  a  man  of  courage  when  he 
saw  him,  and  loved  him  as  his  brother.  By- 
and-by  he  insisted  upon  shaking  hands  with 


1^2  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

me  across  the  table,  swearing  that  if  harm 
had  happened  to  me  through  him  he  would 
have  repented  it  to  the  very  last  day  of  his 
life.  I  now  perceived  that  the  time  had 
come  for  me  to  act;  accordingly  I  began, 
first  by  hints  and  afterwards  by  direct  ap- 
peals, to  beseech  them  that  they  would  give 
me  the  smaller  of  their  two  crafts,  which 
had  been  so  injured  in  the  late  engagement 
that  it  was  still  lying  upon  the  beach  where 
they  had  run  it  aground,  and  from  which 
position  they  had  made  no  efforts  to  rescue 
it.  I  had  noticed  the  craft  as  I  came  down 
the  beach,  and  though  I  observed  that  she 
had  been  very  much  shattered  by  the  broad- 
sides which  we  had  fired  into  her,  I  yet  had 
hopes  that  if  I  could  get  possession  of  her 
I  might  be  able  to  patch  her  up  sufficient- 
ly to  transport  my  passengers  and  crew  to 
some  place  of  greater  security  than  the  isl- 
and offered,  even  perhaps  to  Bombay,  weath- 
er permitting.  I  had  thought  that  the  pi- 
rates would  have  made  some  objection,  and  I 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  153 

believe  that  even  England  himself  was  star- 
tled at  the  boldness  of  my  request,  for  he 
looked  anxiously  at  the  others,  but  ventured 
nothing.  However,  I  think  that  that  very 
boldness  recommended  itself  to  these  reck- 
less spirits,  for  they  granted  what  I  desired 
with  hardly  a  word  of  objection.  Embold- 
ened by  this,  I  went  still  further,  and  be- 
sought them  to  give  me  back  some  of  the 
cargo  which  they  had  captured  along  with 
the  Cassandra. 

At  this,  though  he  said  nothing,  Captain 
England  grinned  as  though  vastly  amused. 
Nor  was  I  wrong  in  venturing  such  a  seem- 
ingly foolhardy  request,  for  not  only  did 
they  promise  to  give  me  back  one  hundred 
and  twenty -nine  bales  of  the  Company's 
goods,  but  also  gave  me  a  written  agree- 
ment to  that  effect,  which  they  each  of  them 
signed,  Captain  England  first  of  all. 

I  may  say  here  that  though  it  might  seem 
absurd  to  set  any  value  upon  a  mere  writ- 
ten agreement  signed  by  such  bloody  and 


r$4  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

lawless  men,  it  was  really  of  very  great  mo- 
ment, for  these  fellows  have  a  vast  respect 
and  regard  for  any  instrument  to  which 
they  set  their  hand,  wherefore  I  knew  that 
the  chances  were  many  to  one  that  they 
would  do  as  they  promised,  after  once  hav- 
ing superscribed  to  it. 

Then,  with  my  heart  beating  so  that  I 
could  hardly  speak,  I  turned  to  Captain 
England.  "  And  you,  sir,"  said  I,  "  will  you 
grant  me  one  small  favor  ?" 

"  That  depends  upon  what  it  is,"  says  he. 

I  looked  at  him  steadily  for  a  moment  or 
two  whilst  I  was  collecting  myself;  then  I 
spoke  with  all  the  coolness  I  could  com- 
mand, although  I  felt  that  I  could  scarcely 
forbear  trembling  at  this  trying  moment. 
"  Why,  sir,"  says  I,  "  if  my  despatches  are 
lost,  I  can  make  but  a  poor  sort  of  a  report 
to  the  Honorable  Company." 

"  Well,  John  Mackra,  and  how  can  I  help 
you  in  that  ?"  said  he,  very  coolly. 

"  Easily  enough,"  said  I.    "  Yonder  is  my 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  15$ 

despatch-box  in  the  corner,  which  can  be  of 
but  little  use  to  you,  and  yet  it  is  of  great 
import  to  me." 

"And  you  want  it?"  says  he. 

"  Indeed  yes,"  said  I,  "  though  of  course 
that  is  as  you  please." 

He  regarded  me  for  a  while  in  silence, 
his  head  upon  one  side,  and  his  face  twist- 
ed up  into  a  most  droll,  quizzical,  cunning 
expression,  of  which  I  could  make  nothing 
whatever. 

"  And  is  that  all  that  you  want  of  me  ?" 
said  he. 

I  nodded  my  head,  for  I  could  not  trust 
myself  to  speak. 

Upon  this  he  burst  suddenly  into  a  great 
loud  laugh,  and  gave  the  table  a  thump 
with  his  fist  which  made  the  glasses  jingle. 
I  sat  regarding  him,  not  knowing  what  to 
make  of  it  all;  but  his  next  words  were  a 
vast  relief  to  me. 

"  Why,"  says  he,  "  I  thought  you  were 
going  to  ask  me  for  something  of  some  ac- 


/ 56  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

count.  If  that  is  all  you  want,  it  is  yours, 
and  welcome  to  it." 

Finding  all  three  of  the  pirates  to  be  in 
such  a  complacent  mood,  I  asked  them  for 
some  of  my  clothes,  for  those  that  I  had 
hung  in  tatters  about  me,  and,  as  said  be- 
fore, I  was  in  my  bare  feet.  But  this  they 
would  not  do,  Master  Burke  asking  me 
whether  they  had  not  granted  enough  al- 
ready, without  giving  me  togs  to  cover  my 
bloody  carcass.  Upon  this  I  perceived  that 
I  had  gotten  all  that  I  was  likely  to  obtain, 
and  so  had  to  go  without  my  clothes. 

The  pirates  were  for  keeping  me  on  board 
all  night,  that  they  might,  as  they  were 
pleased  to  say,  entertain  me  in  a  decent 
fashion.  But  I,  having  gained  possession 
of  the  precious  despatch-box,  and  trembling 
with  anxiety  lest  by  some  sudden  shift  of 
luck  it  should  be  taken  away  from  me  again, 
was  most  eagerly  anxious  to  take  myself 
away.  England  himself  urged  my  depart- 
ure. So  about  seven  o'clock  I  was  put 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  157 

ashore,  with  the  despatch-box  in  my  posses- 
sion, giving  thanks  that  I  had  come  off  from 
my  adventure  with  such  exceeding  good 
fortune,  for  I  felt  that  I  had  not  only  re- 
covered the  most  precious  prize  of  all,  but 
England  had  promised  to  do  his  uttermost 
to  hold  the  others  to  their  written  agree- 
ment, saying  that  if  he  were  successful  he 
would  depart  in  two  days,  leaving  the  bales 
of  goods  behind  upon  the  shore. 


XIII. 

ENGLAND  himself  chose  a  crew  to  row 
me  across  the  beach,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
selected  the  least  reprehensible  of  all  the 
gang;  for  although  they  said  little  to  me, 
they  showed  no  disposition  either  to  be  in- 
solent or  to  offer  violence  to  me;  one  of 
them  even  took  off  his  jacket  and  laid  it  in 
the  stern-sheets  for  me  to  sit  upon.  And 
truly,  in  spite  of  their  wicked  ways,  there  is 
not  so  much  difference  betwixt  some  of 
these  fellows  and  the  common  sailors  in  our 
merchant  service,  excepting  that  the  poor 
wretches  have  been  led  astray  by  evil  coun- 
sel until  they  have  broken  the  laws  and  com- 
mitted outrages  upon  the  high-seas,  and  so 
are  become  outlawed  and  desperate.  More- 
over, I  believe  there  are  many  of  them  who 
would  return  to  better  ways  had  they  oppor- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  159 

tunity  of  so  doing,  and  were  not  afraid  of 
suffering  for  the  evil  things  which  they 
have  committed. 

But  at  that  time  I  thought  little  or  noth- 
ing of  how  they  regarded  me,  my  only  de- 
sire being  to  get  ashore,  that  I  might  hide 
the  precious  despatch-box  in  some  place  of 
safety.  This  I  did  as  soon  as  might  be  af- 
ter I  had  landed,  burying  the  casket  in  the 
sand,  and  marking  the  place  so  that  I  might 
know  it  again. 

Some  little  distance  beyond  where  I  had 
been  put  ashore  from  the  pirate  boat  I 
came  upon  a  party  of  my  own  men  under 
Mr.  White,  who  had  been  despatched  after 
me  by  Mr.  Langely  so  soon  as  he  had  read 
the  communication  which  I  had  left  behind 
me  at  the  king's  town,  and  who  had  for 
some  time  been  lying  hidden  in  the  thick- 
ets, whence  they  might  observe  the  pirates 
and  still  remain  unseen  by  them. 

I  may  confess  that  I  was  mightily  glad 
to  behold  such  kind  and  friendly  faces 


160  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

again,  nor  did  they  seem  less  rejoiced  than 
myself  at  the  meeting.  They  would  not 
allow  me  to  walk,  but  making  a  litter  of 
two  saplings,  bore  me  by  turns  upon  the 
way,  so  that  against  the  morning  had  come 
we  were  safe  in  the  king's  town  once  more. 

Mr.  Longways  was  among  the  first  to  visit 
me,  and  betrayed  the  most  lively  signs  of 
joy  upon  finding  that  I  had  been  fortunate 
enough  to  secure  the  great  ruby  once  more, 
though  he  regretted  that  I  had  not  fetched 
the  box  with  me  instead  of  having  buried  it 
in  the  sand,  so  that  we  might  have  assured 
ourselves  of  the  safety  of  the  treasure. 
Upon  this  point  I  put  him  at  his  ease  by 
convincing  him  that  the  box  was  in  such  a 
condition  and  of  such  an  appearance  as  to 
make  me  feel  certain  that  it  had  neither 
been  forced  nor  the  lock  tampered  with. 

We  only  remained  in  the  king's  town 
about  three  days  longer ;  at  the  end  of  that 
time  the  lookout  which  we  had  placed  at 
the  cape  came  in  and  reported  that  the  pi- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  161 

rate  crafts  had  hoisted  sail  and  borne  away 
to  the  southward,  leaving  behind  them  the 
battered  hulk  of  the  smallest  vessel,  as  they 
had  promised  to  do.  This  much  many  had 
expected  of  them,  but  I  doubt  if  any  except- 
ing myself  had  ventured  to  hope  that  they 
would  fulfil  the  other  part  of  the  agreement 
to  which  they  had  superscribed,  viz.,  to  leave 
behind  them  the  bales  of  goods  which  in 
their  half -drunken  fit  of  generosity  they 
had  promised.  Yet  there  they  were,  neatly 
stacked  upon  the  beach,  and  even  covered 
with  a  tarpaulin.  And  I  know  not  whether 
it  may  be  merely  superstition  upon  their 
part  or  no,  but  this  much  I  have  frequently 
observed,  that  sailors  of  whatever  condition 
have  such  a  vast  regard  and  respect  for  any 
paper  or  written  document  that  they  will 
go  to  great  extremity  before  they  will  do 
aught  to  rupture  or  disobey  the  articles  of 
such  a  bond.  So  it  was  that  I  was  not  so 
much  surprised  at  this  fulfilment  as  either 

Mr.  Langely  or  Mr.  White. 
1 1 


1 62  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

By  this  time  I  was  sufficiently  recovered 
of  my  fever  and  of  my  wound  to  take  upon 
me  the  direction  of  affairs  once  more;  ac- 
cordingly, in  the  space  of  two  weeks,  we 
had  so  far  patched  up  the  battered  hulk  of 
the  pirate  craft  as  to  make  her  tolerably 
sea -worthy,  provided  we  encountered  no 
great  stress  of  weather. 

It  took  us  about  a  week  longer  to  victual 
and  water  the  vessel  (the  bales  of  goods 
which  I  had  begged  from  the  pirates  hav- 
ing been  already  stowed  away  under  cover), 
so  that  it  was  not  until  the  i8th  of  August 
that  we  were  able  to  leave  the  country — 
which  we  did,  giving  thanks  for  all  the  mer- 
cies that  had  been  vouchsafed  to  us  in  this 
trying  and  terrible  time. 

We  were  becalmed  off  the  coast  of  Ara- 
bia, where  we  suffered  greatly  from  the 
scarcity  of  water ;  but  being  brought  safely 
through  that  and  other  dangers,  we  arrived 
at  last  at  Bombay,  where  we  dropped  anchor 
early  in  the  afternoon  of  the  1 3th  of  Octo- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  i6j 

her,  it  being  nigh  upon  two  months  since  we 
had  left  the  coast  of  Juanna. 

I  immediately  sent  a  message  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, Mr.  Boon,  notifying  him  of  the  safe 
arrival  of  Mistress  Pamela,  and  that  I  was 
now  ready  to  deliver  the  despatch -box  at 
such  time  as  he  should  choose  to  appoint. 
I  also  forwarded  to  him  by  the  messenger  a 
full  report  of  all  that  had  happened,  and  of 
the  loss  of  the  Cassandra  in  the  engagement 
on  the  23d  of  July. 

In  about  an  hour  and  a  half  Mr.  Boon 
came  aboard.  He  spoke  most  kindly  and 
flatteringly  of  the  service  which  he  was 
pleased  to  say  I  had  rendered  the  Compa- 
ny. He  urged  me  to  accompany  him  to  the 
shore,  but  though  I  was  mightily  inclined 
to  accept  of  his  kindness,  I  was  forced  to 
decline  at  that  time ;  for,  finding  that  the 
Company's  ship,  the  City  of  London,  was 
about  ready  to  sail,  I  had  determined  to 
send  by  her  a  brief  account  of  the  things 
herein  narrated,  and  was  at  that  moment 


164  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

engaged  in  writing  the  letter  which  '  was 
afterwards  so  widely  published  both  in  the 
newspapers  and  in  Captain  Johnson's  book 
relating  to  the  lives  of  the  nine  famous  pi- 
rate captains.  Finding  that  I  could  not  just 
then  quit  the  ship,  he  insisted  that  I  should 
sup  with  them  that  very  night.  I  was  only 
too  glad  to  accept  of  this,  for  I  had  deter- 
mined that  I  would  discover  in  what  man- 
ner of  regard  Mistress  Pamela  held  me,  and 
that  without  loss  of  time.  I  had  now  every 
right  to  offer  my  addresses  to  her,  which  I 
had  not  had  heretofore.  Accordingly,  hav- 
ing delivered  the  despatch -box  into  Mr. 
Boon's  hands  with  feelings  of  the  most  sin- 
cere and  heart-felt  relief,  and  having  obtain- 
ed his  receipt  for  the  same,  I  escorted  Mis- 
tress Pamela  to  the  Governor's  boat,  thence 
returning  to  my  own  cabin  feeling  strangely 
lonely  and  melancholic. 

This  was  about  half-past  two  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon;  at  about  four  a  small  boat 
came  alongside,  and  a  young  man  of  some 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  165 

twenty-three  years  of  age  stepped  upon  the 
deck,  who  introduced  himself  as  Mr.  Whit- 
comb,  the  Governor's  secretary.  He  brought 
a  written  message  from  the  Governor  re- 
questing my  immediate  presence  at  the 
Residency  upon  a  matter  of  the  very  first 
importance.  I  turned  to  Mr.  Whitcomb  and 
asked  if  he  knew  what  was  the  nature  of  the 
business  the  Governor  would  have  with  me. 

He  said  no,  but  that  the  Governor  and 
Mr.  Elliott,  the  Company's  agent,  had  been 
closeted  together  with  Mr.  McFarland  and 
Mr.  Hansel,  of  the  banking-house,  for  some 
time,  and  then  had  sent  this  message  to  me 
by  him,  which  was  plainly  one  of  very  great 
consequence. 

I  immediately  entered  the  boat  with  the 
secretary,  and  was  rowed  to  the  shore,  where, 
when  we  had  come  to  the  Residency,  I  found 
the  four  gentlemen  waiting  for  me.  They 
were  seated  around  a  table,  whereon  was  the 
despatch-box  and  my  written  report,  which 
consumed  some  six  or  eight  sheets  of  paper. 


1 66  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

The  Governor  invited  me  to  be  seated, 
which  I  had  hardly  done  when  one  of  the 
company,  whom  I  afterwards  found  to  be 
Mr.  Elliott,  began  questioning  me.  I  an- 
swered fully  to  everything  he  asked,  the 
others  listening,  and  now  and  then  putting 
in  a  word,  or  asking  for  fuller  particulars 
upon  some  point  or  other  which  was  per- 
haps more  obscure.  When  I  came  to  the 
part  that  related  to  Captain  Leach  I  saw 
them  glance  at  one  another  in  a  very  pe- 
culiar way;  but  I  continued  without  stop- 
ping until  I  had  told  everything  concerning 
the  matter  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 
No  one  said  anything  for  a  little  time,  until 
at  last  Mr.  Elliott  spoke : 

"  Do  I  correctly  understand  from  this  re- 
port," says  he,  touching  the  papers  which 
lay  upon  the  table  as  he  spoke,  "  that  Mr. 
Longways  betrayed  the  nature  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  despatch-box  both  to  you  and 
to  Captain  Leach  ?" 

"Yes,  sir,"  said  I. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  167 

"And  you  are  sure  that  no  one  knew 
of  the  presence  of  the  jewel  but  you  and 
he?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  said  I,  again. 

At  this  the  gentlemen  exchanged  glances, 
and  Mr.  Elliott  continued  his  questioning. 

"And  did  you  not  know  that  Captain 
Leach  had  been  left  behind  when  you  quit- 
ted the  Cassandra  ?" 

"  Why,  no,  sir,"  said  I.  u  It  was  intended 
that  he  should  go  in  the  first  passage  of  the 
long-boat  with  the  boatswain." 

"  But  did  you  not  say  that  you  helped  the 
women  aboard  of  the  long-boat  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,  I  did,"  I  said. 

There  was  a  pause  of  a  moment  or  two, 
and  all  sat  regarding  me.  Presently  Mr. 
Elliott  spoke  again. 

"And  did  you  not  then  see  that  Cap- 
tain Leach  was  absent  from  the  boat  ?"  said 
he. 

"No,  sir,"  said  I,  "I  did  not;  the  boat 
was  very  full,  and  the  air  so  thick  with  gun- 


1 68  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

powder  smoke  that  I  could  see  little  or 
nothing  at  any  distance." 

"  But  did  you  not  then  take  care  to  see 
that  all  your  passengers  were  safe  aboard  ?" 

"  Why,  no,  sir,"  said  I.  "  The  order  had 
been  passed  for  all  passengers  to  go  aboard 
the  long-boat,  and  I  supposed  that  Captain 
Leach  had  obeyed  with  the  rest.  I  was  so 
occupied  with  the  safety  of  the  women  just 
then  that  I  thought  of  nothing  else." 

"You  say  that  the  pirate  England  told 
you  that  Captain  Leach  had  been  killed 
when  they  first  came  aboard  the  Cassandra. 
Did  you  take  any  other  evidence  in  the 
matter  than  his  word  ?" 

"  Why,  no,  sir,"  said  I,  "  I  did  not." 

Mr.  Elliott  said  "Humph!"  and  another 
short  space  of  silence  followed,  during  which 
he  played  absently  with  the  leaves  of  my 
report. 

"  But  tell  me,  Captain  Mackra,"  said  he, 
presently, "  did  you  not  speak  to  any  one  of 
your  suspicions  concerning  Captain  Leach 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  169 

after  he  had  quitted  the  ship  on  the  night 
of  the  2ist  in  such  a  mysterious  man- 
ner ?" 

"  Why,  no,  sir,"  said  I ;  "  for  I  saw  no  suf- 
ficient grounds  to  accuse  him  of  any  under- 
hand practices." 

"And  yet,"  said  a  thin,  middle-aged  gen- 
tleman, with  a  sharp  voice,  whom  I  after- 
wards found  to  be  Mr.  McFarland — "and 
yet  you  saw  him  quit  the  Cassandra  in  a 
most  suspicious  manner,  and  under  the  most 
suspicious  circumstances,  and  also  had  rea- 
son to  suspect  him  of  having  knowledge  of 
the  jewel.  Why,  then,  did  you  not  examine 
him  publicly  or  put  him  under  arrest  after 
he  returned  ?" 

"  Sir,"  said  I,  "  I  disliked  Captain  Leach, 
and  feared  that  my  prejudice  might  lead  me 
astray." 

"  But,  Captain  Mackra,"  said  the  Govern- 
or, "  your  personal  feelings  should  never  in- 
terfere with  your  duty." 

I  knew  not  where  all  these  matters  tend- 


7/0  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

ed,  but  I  began  to  be  mightily  troubled  in 
my  mind  concerning  them.  However,  I  had 
little  time  for  thought,  for  Mr.  Elliott  began 
questioning  me  again.  He  asked  me  if  I 
had  told  any  one  of  my  intended  visit  to  the 
pirate-ship,  of  whom  I  had  seen  there,  and 
of  what  inducements  I  had  offered  to  per- 
suade  them  to  give  me  one  of  their  crafts 
and  return  such  a  quantity  of  the  Compa- 
ny's goods.  He  cross  -  questioned  me  so 
keenly  in  regard  to  the  last  point  that  I 
found  myself  tripping  more  than  once,  for 
it  is  mightily  difficult  to  remember  all  of 
the  petty  details  even  of  such  an  important 
event  as  that.  I  believe  that  I  answered 
more  loosely  than  I  otherwise  would  have 
done  from  the  agitation  into  which  I  was 
cast  by  the  serious  shape  which  matters 
seemed  to  be  taking. 

"Sir,"  I  cried  to  Mr.  Elliott,  "do  you 
blame  me  for  getting  back  so  much  of  the 
Company's  goods  as  I  was  able  ?" 

"  I  blame  you  for  nothing,  Captain  Mac- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  /// 

kra,"  said  he.  "  I  merely  question  you  in 
regard  to  a  matter  of  great  importance." 

"But,  sir,"  I  said,  hotly,  "am  I  to  be 
blamed  for  losing  my  ship  after  a  hard- 
fought  battle  ?  You  should  recollect,  sir, 
that  I  was  wounded  in  the  Company's  serv- 
ice ;  methinks,  sir,  that  should  weigh  some 
in  my  favor." 

"  But,  Captain  Mackra,"  said  Mr.  Me  Far- 
land,  very  seriously,  "are  not  accidents 
likely  to  happen  to  any  one  under  any 
circumstances?  Captain  Leach,  you  may 
remember,  was  killed  in  spite  of  all  the  pre- 
cautions he  may  have  taken  to  preserve  his 
life." 

A  great  weight  of  dread  seemed  to  have 
been  settling  upon  me  as  the  examination 
had  progressed,  but  at  these  words  it  was 
as  though  a  sudden  light  flashed  upon  me ; 
I  rose  slowly  from  my  chair,  and  stood  with 
my  hand  leaning  upon  the  table.  For  a 
moment  or  two  my  head  swam  with  vertigo, 
and  I  passed  my  hand  across  my  forehead. 


if  2  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

"  I  am  not  so  well,  gentlemen,"  said  I,  "  as  I 
was  some  time  since,  for  I  have  gone  through 
many  hardships ;  therefore  I  beseech  you 
to  excuse  me  if  I  have  appeared  weak  in 
the  manner  or  the  matter  of  my  discourse." 
Then  turning  to  the  Governor, "  Will  you 
be  pleased  to  tell  me,  sir,  what  all  this 
means  ?"  .  . 

"  Sir,"  said  he,  in  a  low  tone,  "  the  ruby 
has  been  stolen,  and  was  not  in  the  box 
when  you  gave  it  to  me." 

I  stood  looking  around  at  them  for  a 
while;  I  know  that  I  must  have  been  very 
pale,  for  Mr.  McFarland  sprang  to  his  feet. 

"  Captain  Mackra,  you  are  ill,"  he  said ; 
"  will  you  not  be  seated  ?" 

I  shook  my  head  impatiently,  and  collect- 
ing myself,  I  said,  very  slowly  and  somewhat 
unsteadily,  "  Do  you  suspect  me  of  being  in- 
strumental in  taking  it  ?" 

No  one  answered  for  an  instant.  Then 
the  Governor  said,  "No,  Captain  Mackra, 
we  suspect  you  of  nothing ;  only  it  is  best 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  173 

that  you  should  return  to  England  and 
make  your  report  to  the  Company  in  per- 
son. Meanwhile  you  will  make  no  effort 
to  leave  this  country  until  I  find  means  to 
secure  your  passage  for  you." 

"  I  am  to  consider  myself  under  arrest  ?" 
said  I. 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  Governor,  kindly,  "  not 
under  arrest;  but  you  must  hold  yourself 
prepared  to  stand  your  examination  before 
the  proper  agents  of  the  Company  at  Lon- 
don, and  at  such  time  as  they  may  decide 
upon." 


XIV. 

So  soon  as  I  had  left  the  Residency  I 
went  straight  aboard  my  craft.  I  entered 
my  cabin,  locked  the  door,  and  began  pac- 
ing up  and  down,  striving  to  collect  my 
thoughts  and  to  shape  them  into  some  sort 
of  order.  At  first  I  was  possessed  with  a 
most  ungovernable  fury — that  I,  who  had 
suffered  so  much,  who  had  fought  till  I 
could  fight  no  more,  and  who  had  freely 
risked  my  life  in  the  Company's  cause, 
should  now  be  accused  of  stealing  that  very 
thing  that  had  cost  me  such  suffering  and 
so  great  a  weight  of  trouble.  But  by-and- 
by  the  ferment  of  my  spirits  began  some- 
what to  subside,  and  I  could  look  matters 
more  coolly  in  the  face.  Then,  instead  of 
anger,  I  became  consumed  with  anxiety,  for 
I  began,  little  by  little,  to  perceive  what  a 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  775 

dreadful  cloud  of  suspicion  overshadowed 
me.  I  had  acted  to  the  best  of  my  light 
in  not  accusing  Captain  Leach  of  what  I 
feared  might  be  unfounded  suspicions  bred 
of  my  dislike  of  his  person.  Now  all  men 
would  think  that  I  was  leagued  with  him  in 
robbing  the  Company  of  the  great  ruby.  In 
return  for  my  forbearance  in  not  making  a 
public  accusation  against  him,  he  had  be- 
trayed me  and  all  that  were  aboard  the  Cas- 
sandra, and  now  every  one  would  believe 
that  I  had  aided  him  in  that  as  in  the  rest. 
He  had  remained  behind  in  the  hopes  of 
joining  the  pirates,  and  so  securing  himself 
in  the  possession  of  his  booty.  Instead  of 
accomplishing  this,  he  had  perished  miser- 
ably on  board  of  that  craft,  wet  with  the 
blood  of  those  whom  he  had  betrayed ;  but 
as  for  me,  how  could  I  ever  disprove  the 
horrid  charge  that  I  had  deserted  my  con- 
federate in  guilt,  leaving  him  to  his  death, 
so  that  I  might  gain  all  for  myself.  The 
very  fact  of  my  taking  my  life  into  my  hands, 


ij6  The  Rose  of  Paradise, 

and  going  so  freely  among  those  wicked 
and  bloody  wretches,  instead  of  weighing  in 
my  favor,  would  seem  to  point  to  some  sort 
of  bargain  with  them  whereby  I  was  the 
gainer;  for  who  would  believe  that  they 
would  voluntarily  have  resigned  so  great  a 
part  of  those  things  which  they  had  a  short 
time  before  torn  away  from  us  at  the  cost 
of  so  much  blood?  Even  the  fact  of  my 
having  so  carefully  guarded  the  secret  of 
the  stone  might  be  twisted  into  sinister  sus- 
picions against  me. 

As  for  those  bright  hopes  that  I  had  but 
lately  entertained,  how  could  I  now  raise 
my  eyes  towards  Mistress  Pamela,  or  how 
could  I  look  for  anything,  who  was  stained 
with  such  dreadful  suspicions,  without  pros- 
pect of  being  cleansed  from  them  ? 

Perceiving  all  these  things  so  clearly,  I 
resigned  myself  to  the  depths  of  gloomy 
despair,  for  the  more  I  bent  my  mind  upon 
these  matters  the  less  did  I  see  my  way 
clear  from  my  entanglements.  I  sat  long 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  777 

into  the  night,  thinking  and  thinking,  until 
the  temptation  came  upon  me  to  shoot  out 
my  brains,  and  be  quit  of  all  my  troubles  in 
that  sudden  manner.  In  this  extremity  I 
flung  myself  upon  my  knees  and  prayed 
most  fervently,  and  after  a  while  was  more 
at  peace,  though  with  no  clearer  knowledge 
as  to  how  I  might  better  my  condition.  So 
I  went  to  my  berth,  where  I  was  presently 
sound  asleep,  with  all  my  troubles  forgot. 

A  day  or  two  after  these  things  had  be- 
fallen comes  one  of  the  Company's  clerks 
aboard,  with  an  order  from  Mr.  Elliott  re- 
lieving me  of  my  command,  and  appointing 
Mr.  Langely  in  my  stead.  This  appoint- 
ment Mr.  Langely  would  have  refused  had 
I  not  urged  him  to  accept  of  it,  seeing  he 
could  better  settle  the  affairs  of  which  he 
would  be  in  charge  than  one  who  would 
come  aboard  a  stranger.  Accordingly  he 
consented  to  do  as  I  advised,  though  pro- 
testing against  it  most  earnestly. 

About  two  weeks  after  our  arrival  at  Bom- 
12 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

bay  the  Governor  notified  me  that  the  Com- 
pany's ship  Lavinia  was  about  quitting  her 
anchorage,  and  that  he  had  secured  a  berth 
to  England  in  her  for  me.  I  was  very  well 
pleased  that  the  Governor  had  hit  upon  this 
one  ship  of  all  others  in  the  Company's 
service,  for  her  commander,  Captain  Croker, 
was  an  old  and  well-tried  friend  of  mine, 
and  one  with  whom  it  would  be  more  pleas- 
ing to  be  consociated  at  a  time  of  such  ex- 
treme ill  fortune  as  I  was  then  suffering 
under.  I  went  aboard  her  at  once,  and  was 
most  kindly  received  by  Captain  Croker, 
whom  I  found  had  had  a  very  comfortable 
berth  fitted  up  for  me,  and  had  arranged  all 
things  to  make  my  voyage  as  pleasant  as 
possible. 

The  day  after  I  came  aboard,  wind  and 
tide  being  fair,  and  Captain  Croker  having 
received  his  orders,  we  hoisted  anchor  and 
sailed  out  of  the  harbor,  and  by  four  o'clock 
had  dropped  the  land  astern. 

During  the  first  part  of  that  voyage,  be- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  179 

fore  I  had  contrived  to  leave  the  Lavinia,  of 
which  I  shall  hereafter  tell,  my  mind  was 
constantly  and  continually  filled  with  my 
troubles,  so  that  they  were  the  first  thing 
which  I  remembered  in  the  morning,  and 
the  last  thing  which  I  forgot  before  I  fell 
asleep.  But  that  which  puzzled  me  more 
than  anything  else  was  to  account  for  the 
mysterious  manner  in  which  the  Rose  of 
Paradise  had  been  spirited  away  from  the 
iron  despatch-box,  and  what  had  become  of 
it  after  it  had  passed  from  Mr.  White's  pos- 
session. Of  this  I  thought  and  pondered 
until  my  brain  grew  weary. 

One  night,  we  being  at  that  time  becalm- 
ed off  the  Gulf  of  Arabia,  I  sat  upon  the 
poop-deck  looking  out  over  the  water  and 
into  the  sky,  dusted  all  over  with  an  infinite 
quantity  of  stars,  and  with  my  mind  still 
moving  upon  the  same  old  track  which  it 
had  so  often  travelled  before.  I  know  not 
whether  it  was  the  refreshing  silence  which 
reigned  all  about  me,  but  of  a  sudden  it 


i8o  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

seemed  as  though  the  uncertainties  which 
had  beset  my  mind  were  removed,  and  the 
whole  matter  stood  before  me  with  a  most 
marvellous  clearness.  Then  I  knew,  as 
plain  as  though  it  had  been  revealed  to  me, 
that  the  only  man  in  the  world  who  either 
had  the  Rose  of  Paradise  in  his  possession, 
or  knew  where  it  was  hidden,  was  Captain 
Edward  England. 

I  do  not  think  that  I  came  to  this  con- 
clusion through  any  line  of  reasoning,  but 
rather  with  a  sudden  leap  of  thought ;  but 
as  soon  as  I  had  fairly  grasped  it  I  mar- 
velled at  the  dulness  of  my  understanding, 
which  should  have  prevented  my  perceiv- 
ing it  before;  for  every  single  circumstance 
that  had  happened  pointed  but  in  one  di- 
rection, and  that  was  towards  the  end  which 
I  had  but  just  reached. 

It  was  as  plain  as  the  light  of  day  that 
when  Captain  Leach  went  aboard  of  the 
pirate  craft  on  the  night  of  the  2ist  of  July, 
Captain  England  would  require  him  to  ex- 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  181 

plain  his  object  in  betraying  the  Cassandra 
into  their  hands ;  and  it  was  equally  plain 
that  Leach  would  have  to  tell  the  truth ;  for 
it  was  not  likely  that  he  could  deceive  such 
a  sharp  and  cunning  blade  as  that  famous 
freebooter.  I  recalled  the  strange  look 
which  Captain  England  had  given  me  when 
he  told  me  that  Captain  Leach  had  been 
"shot  by  accident"  upon  their  coming 
aboard  the  Cassandra;  whereupon,  regard- 
ing matters  from  my  present  stand-point,  I 
felt  assured  that  England  had  killed  Leach 
with  his  own  hand,  so  that  with  him  the  se- 
cret of  the  stone  might  perish  from  amongst 
them.  I  also  felt  convinced  that  he  must, 
with  great  care  and  circumspection,  have 
picked  the  lock  of  the  despatch -box  and 
have  despoiled  it  of  its  contents,  which  he 
had  kept  for  himself  without  informing  any 
of  his  shipmates  of  what  he  had  found. 

I  could  not  at  first  account  for  the  treat- 
ment that  I  had  met  with  at  the  pirates' 
hands,  nor  why  I  had  not  been  shot  so  soon 


282  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

as  I  had  stepped  upon  their  decks,  for  it  was 
plain  to  see  that  that  would  be  the  easiest 
and  quickest  way  for  Captain  England  to 
rid  himself  of  me ;  yet  it  was  very  apparent 
to  me  that  he  desired  that  my  life  should 
be  saved,  and  was  even  inclined  to  show  me 
some  kindness  after  his  own  fashion ;  and  I 
do  verily  believe  that  that  wicked  and  bloody 
man  entertained  a  sincere  regard  for  my 
person,  and  had  it  in  his  mind  to  do  me  a 
good  turn ;  for  even  the  very  worst  of  men 
have  some  seed  of  kindness  in  them,  other- 
wise they  could  not  be  of  our  human  broth- 
erhood, but  wild  beasts,  thinking  only  of 
rending  and  tearing  one  another. 

But  I  could  easily  perceive  that  so  soon 
as  England  felt  assured  of  my  coming 
aboard  of  his  craft,  he  would  strive  to  mis- 
lead me  into  thinking  that  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  stone,  lest  by  some  inadvertent  word 
I  should  betray  a  knowledge  of  it  to  the 
others,  and  he  would  have  to  share  his  spoil 
with  them.  Therefore  he  would  carefully 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  183 

lock  the  box  again,  and  would  toss  it  in  the 
corner  to  lead  me  to  think  he  knew  nothing 
of  the  contents. 

All  this  train  of  reasoning  I  followed  out 
in  my  mind,  and  when  I  recalled  the  quiz- 
zical, cunning  look  which  the  rogue  had 
given  me  when  I  asked  for  the  despatch- 
box,  I  felt  certainly  assured  that  I  was  right. 

I  remember  that  when  I  had  clearly  cogi- 
tated all  this  out  in  my  own  mind  I  felt  as 
though  one  step  had  been  gained  towards 
the  recovery  of  the  stone,  and  for  an  instant 
it  seemed  as  though  a  great  part  of  the 
weight  of  despondency  had  been  lifted  from 
my  breast.  But  the  next  moment  it  settled 
upon  me  again  when  I  brought  to  mind  that 
I  was  as  far  as  ever  from  regaining  the  jew- 
el ;  for  I  knew  not  where  the  pirates  then 
were,  and  even  if  I  did  know,  and  was  vent- 
uresome enough  to  face  their  captain  a  sec- 
ond time,  it  was  not  likely  that  he  would  be 
so  complacent  as  to  give  back  such  a  great 
treasure  for  the  mere  asking. 


184  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

Nor  do  I  think  it  likely  that  I  would  ever 
have  gained  anything  by  this  knowledge 
which  had  come  to  me  (unless  I  might  have 
used  it  to  help  my  case  with  the  East  India 
Company)  had  not  Providence  seen  fit  to 
send  me  help  in  a  most  strange  and  unex- 
pected manner.  And  thus  it  was : 

One  morning  when  I  came  upon  deck  I 
saw  several  of  the  passengers,  together  with 
the  captain  and  the  first  mate,  standing  at 
the  lee  side  of  the  ship  and  looking  out  for- 
ward,  Captain  Croker  with  a  glass  to  his  eye. 
Upon  inquiring  they  told  me  that  the  look- 
out had  some  little  time  before  sighted  a 
small  open  boat,  which  had  been  signalling 
the  ship  with  what  they  were  now  able  to 
make  out  was  a  shirt  tied  to  the  blade  of  an 
oar.  We  ran  down  to  the  boat,  which  we 
reached  in  twenty  or  thirty  minutes,  and 
then  hove  to,  and  it  came  alongside. 

There  were  three  men  in  her,  who  seemed 
to  be  in  a  mightily  good  condition  for  cast- 
aways in  an  open  boat 


T/ie  Rose  of  Paradise.  185 

I  stood  looking  down  into  it  along  with 
other  of  the  passengers,  watching  the  men 
as  they  took  in  their  oars  and  laid  them 
along  the  thwarts.  Just  then  one  of  the 
fellows  raised  his  face  and  looked  up ;  and 
when  I  saw  him  I  could  not  forbear  a  sud- 
den exclamation  of  amazement.  I  remem- 
ber one  of  my  fellow-passengers,  a  Mr.  Wil- 
son, who  stood  next  to  me,  asked  me  what 
was  the  matter.  I  made  some  excuse  or 
other  that  was  of  little  consequence,  but 
the  truth  was  that  I  recognized  the  fellow 
as  that  very  pirate  who  had  first  kicked  me 
in  the  loins  when  I  lay  bound  upon  the 
deck  of  the  Cassandra,  and  whom  Captain 
England  had  knocked  down  with  the  iron 
belaying-pin. 

However,  the  fellow  did  not  recognize  me, 
for  I  was  a  very  different  object  now  than 
when  he  had  seen  me  lying  upon  the  pirate 
deck,  pinched  with  my  sickness,  barefoot 
and  half  naked,  and  my  cheeks  and  chin 
covered  over  with  a  week's  growth  of  beard. 


1 86  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

The  three  fellows  presently  came  aboard, 
and  were  brought  aft  to  the  quarter-deck, 
where  Captain  Croker  stood,  just  below  the 
rail  of  the  deck  above.  They  told  a  very 
straightforward  story,  and  I  could  not  help 
admiring  at  their  coolness  and  the  clever 
way  in  which  they  passed  it  off.  They  said 
that  they  had  been  part  of  the  crew  of  the 
brigantine  Ormond,  which  had  been  lost 
in  a  storm  about  a  hundred  and  twenty 
leagues  north  of  the  island  of  Madagascar. 
That  the  captain  and  six  of  the  crew  had 
taken  the  long-boat,  and  that  they  had 
become  separated  from  her  in  the  dark- 
ness two  nights  before.  They  answered  all 
of  Captain  Croker's  questions  in  a  very 
straightforward  manner,  and  with  all  the 
appearance  of  truth.  After  satisfying  him- 
self, he  told  them  that  they  might  go  below 
and  get  something  to  eat,  and  that  he  would 
carry  them  to  England  as  a  part  of  the 
ship's  crew. 

At  first  I  was  inclined  to  tell  the  real 


*  o 

>  * 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  187 

truth  concerning  them  to  Captain  Croker, 
but  on  second  thoughts  I  determined  to  see 
what  the  fellows  had  to  say  for  themselves ; 
for  I  only  recognized  one  of  them,  and,  after 
all,  their  story  might  be  true,  and  that  one 
have  given  up  his  wicked  trade  in  the  four 
or  five  months  since  I  had  last  seen  him. 

About  an  hour  after  this  I  saw  my  friend 
the  pirate  engaged  forward  in  coiling  a  rope. 
I  came  to  him  and  watched  him  for  a  while, 
but  he  kept  steadily  on  with  what  he  was 
about,  and  said  nothing  to  me. 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  I,  after  a  bit,  "  and  how 
was  Captain  England  when  you  saw  him 
last  ?" 

The  fellow  started  up  as  suddenly  as 
though  the  rope  had  changed  to  an  adder 
in  his  hands.  He  looked  about  him  as 
though  to  see  if  any  one  were  near  and  had 
overheard  what  I  said  to  him,  and  then  re- 
covered himself  with  amazing  quickness. 
He  grinned  in  a  simple  manner,  and  chuck- 
ed his  thumb  up  to  his  forelock.  "What 


1 88  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

was  it  you  were  saying,  sir  ?"  says  he.  "  I 
didn't  just  understand  you." 

"  Come,  come,"  said  I ;  "  that  will  never 
pass  amongst  old  friends.  Why,  don't  you 
remember  me  ?" 

He  looked  at  me  in  a  mightily  puzzled 
fashion  for  a  while.  "  No,  sir ;  asking  your 
pardon,  sir,"  said  he,  "  I  don't  remember 
you." 

"What !"  said  I,  "have  you  forgot  Captain 
Mackra,  and  how  you  gave  him  a  kick  in 
the  side  when  he  lay  on  the  deck  of  the 
Cassandra,  down  off  Juanna?"  As  the  fel- 
low looked  at  me  I  saw  him  change  from 
red  to  yellow  and  from  yellow  to  blue ;  his 
jaw  dropped,  and  his  eyes  started  as  though 
a  spirit  from  the  dead  had  risen  up  from  the 
decks  in  front  of  him.  "  So,"  said  I,  "  I  see 
you  remember  me  now." 

"  For  God's  sake,  sir,"  said  he,  "  don't  ruin 
a  poor  devil  who  wants  to  make  himself 
straight  with  the  world.  I  was  drunk  when 
I  kicked  you,  sir — the  Lord  knows  I  was ; 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  189 

you  wouldn't  hang  me  for  that,  sir,  would 
you  ?" 

"  That  depends,"  said  I,  sternly,  "  upon 
whether  you  answer  my  questions  without 
telling  me  a  lie,  as  you  did  Captain  Croker 
just  now." 

"  I  wish  I  may  die,  sir,"  said  he,  "  if  what 
I  tell  you  ain't  so.  We  all  three  of  us  left 
the  Royal  James  last  night — she  was  the 
Cassandra,  sir,  but  we  christened  her  a  new 
name,  and  hoisted  the  Black  Roger  over 
her.  We  got  scared,  sir,  at  the  way  things 
was  going  since  Ned  England  left  us  and 
Tom  Burke  turned  captain ;  for  he  ain't  the 
man  England  was,  and  that's  the  truth.  All 
we  ask  now,  sir,  is  to  start  fair  and  square 
again ;  and  so  be  if  we  don't  hang  for  this, 
I  wish  I  may  be  struck  dead,  sir,  if  I,  for 
one,  go  back  to  the  bloody  trade  again.  So 
all  I  want  is  to  have  a  fair  trial,  and  I  begs 
of  you,  sir,  that  you  won't  say  the  word  that 
would  hang  us  all  up  to  the  yard-arms  as 
quick  as  a  wink." 


I  go  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  am  mightily  afraid  that  I  did  not  hear 
the  last  of  the  fellow's  discourse,  for  one 
part  of  the  speech  that  he  had  'dropped 
went  through  me  like  a  shot.  "  How  is 
that?"  I  cried.  "Was  not  Captain  Eng- 
land with  you  when  you  deserted  the  ship?" 

"  Why,  no,  sir,"  says  he.  "  You  see,  sir, 
when  we  sailed  away  from  Juanna,  Tom 
Burke  began  to  move  heaven  and  earth 
against  England,  and  back  of  him  he  had 
all  of  the  worst  of  the  crew  aboard.  First 
of  all  he  began  setting  matters  by  the 
ears  because  England  and  Ward  had  been 
wheedled  into  giving  you  —  asking  your 
pardon,  sir  —  a  good  sound  vessel  and  all 
them  bales  of  cloth  stuff.  I  tell  you  plain, 
sir,  Burke  would  never  have  let  you  had 
'em  if  he  hadn't  wanted  to  use  the  matter 
against  England.  Well,  sir,  one  night  Ward 
fell  overboard — nobody  knowed  how — and 
there  was  an  end  of  him.  After  that  they 
weren't  long  in  getting  rid  of  England,  I 
can  tell  you." 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  191 

"Yes,  yes,"  I  cried,  impatiently,  "but  how 
did  you  get  rid  of  him  ?" 

"  Why,  sir,"  says  he,  "  they  marooned  him 
on  a  little  island  off  the  Mauritius,  and  six 
others  with  him ;  they  was — " 

"  Never  mind  them,"  I  cried ;  "  but  tell 
me,  do  you  know  what  became  of  him  ?" 

"  Why,  yes,  sir,"  says  he ;  "  leastways  we 
knew  of  him  by  hearsay;  and  this  was  how: 
About  eight  weeks  ago  we  ran  into  a  cove 
on  the  south  shore  of  Mauritius  to  clean 
both  ships,  which  had  grown  mightily  foul. 
While  we  lay  there  on  the  careen  a  parcel 
of  the  crew  who  had  been  off  hunting  for 
game  fetched  back  one  of  the  self-same  fel- 
lows we  had  marooned  two  months  and 
more  before.  He  told  us  that  England  and 
his  shipmates  had  made  a  little  craft  out  of 
bits  of  boards  and  barrel  -  staves,  and  had 
crossed  over  to  the  Mauritius  in  a  spell  of 
fair  weather,  though  it  was  five  leagues  and 
more  away." 

To  all  this  I  listened  with  the  greatest 


192  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

intentness.  "  And  is  that  all  you  know  of 
him?"  said  I.  "And  can  you  not  tell  wheth- 
er he  is  yet  on  the  island  ?" 

The  fellow  looked  at  me  for  a  moment 
out  of  the  corners  of  his  eyes  without 
speaking.  "  Look  'ee,  sir,"  said  he,  after  a 
little  while, "  what  I  wants  to  know  is  this : 
be  ye  seeking  to  harm  Ned  England  or 
not  ?" 

"And  do  you  trouble  yourself  about 
that?"  says  I.  "Sure  he  can  be  no  friend 
of  yours,  for  did  I  not  myself  see  him  knock 
out  a  parcel  of  your  teeth  with  an  iron  be- 
laying-pin  ?" 

"  Yes,  you  did,"  says  he ;  "  but  I  bear  him 
no  grudge  for  that." 

"  Why,"  said  I,  "  then  neither  do  I  bear 
him  a  grudge,  and  I  give  you  my  word  of 
honor  that  I  mean  no  harm  to  him." 

The  fellow  looked  at  me  earnestly  for  a 
while.  "  You  wants  to  know  where  Ned 
England  is,  don't  you,  sir  ?"  said  he. 

I  nodded  my  head. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

"And  I  wants  to  be  perserved  from  hang- 
ing, don't  I  ?" 

I  nodded  my  head  again. 

"  Then  look  'ee,  sir,"  says  he,  "  we'll  strike 
a  bit  of  a  bargain :  if  you'll  promise  to  say 
nothing  to  harm  me  and  my  shipmates,  I'll 
tell  you  where  to  find  Ned  England." 

I  considered  the  matter  for  a  while.  The 
fellow  had  told  me  a  straightforward  story, 
nor  did  I  doubt  that  he  intended  to  break 
away  from  his  evil  courses.  I  may  truly  say 
that  I  verily  believe  I  would  not  have  be- 
trayed the  three  poor  wretches  under  any 
circumstances.  "  Very  well,"  said  I,  "  I  prom- 
ise to  keep  my  part  of  the  bargain." 

"  Upon  your  honor  ?"  said  he. 

"  Upon  my  honor,"  said  I. 

"  Then,  sir,"  said  he,  "  you  will  find  him 
at  Port  Louis,  in  the   Mauritius,"  and  he 
turned  upon  his  heel  and  walked  away. 
13 


XV. 

I  WAS  filled  with  the  greatest  exultation 
by  the  knowledge  which  I  had  gained 
through  the  deserter  from  the  pirates,  for 
not  only  had  I  discovered  the  whereabouts 
of  the  one  man  in  all  of  the  world  whom  I 
felt  well  convinced  had  knowledge  of  the 
Rose  of  Paradise,  but  that  man  no  longer 
had  a  crew  of  wicked  and  bloody  wretches 
back  of  him,  but  stood,  like  me,  upon  his 
own  footing.  Therefore  I  determined  that 
I  would  by  some  means  or  other  either  re- 
gain the  treasure  or  perish  in  the  attempt, 
for  I  would  rather  die  than  live  a  life  of  dis- 
honor such  as  now  seemed  to  lie  before  me. 
However,  I  plainly  perceived  that  if  I  would 
recover  the  treasure  I  would  have  to  escape 
from  the  ship  by  some  means  or  other  whilst 
we  were  upon  our  passage  and  near  the  isle 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

of  Mauritius,  for  if  I  lost  time  by  going 
home  and  standing  my  examination,  many 
things  might  occur  which  would  lose  the 
chance  to  me  forever :  England  might  quit 
the  Mauritius,  or  gather  together  another 
crew  of  pirates  upon  his  own  account,  for 
with  such  a  treasure  as  the  Rose  of  Para- 
dise he  had  it  clearly  in  his  power  to  do 
that  and  much  more. 

At  that  time  our  English  vessels  were 
used  to  lay  their  course  up  and  down  the 
Mozambique  Channel,  and  not  along  the 
eastern  coast  of  Madagascar ;  for  the  Mau- 
ritius and  other  islands  which  lie  to  the 
north-east  of  that  land  belong  to  the  French 
or  Dutch,  as  those  in  the  Channel  belong 
to  us.  Therefore  it  was  necessary  to  my 
purpose  that  I  should  persuade  Captain 
Croker  to  alter  his  course,  so  as  to  run 
down  outside  the  island  instead  of  through 
the  Channel,  for  it  was  plain  to  see  that  even 
if  I  should  be  able  to  escape  from  the  La- 
vinia  to  Juanna  or  to  any  of  the  coadjacent 


ig6  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

islands,  I  would  be  as  far  as  ever  from  get- 
ting to  Mauritius,  which  lieth  many  leagues 
away  around  the  northern  end  of  Madagas- 
car. 

So  I  determined  to  make  a  clean  breast 
of  it,  and  confide  the  whole  plan  to  Captain 
Croker  from  beginning  to  end,  only  I  would 
say  nothing  as  to  how  I  had  gained  my 
knowledge  of  England's  whereabouts,  for  I 
would  not  break  the  promise  which  I  had 
given  to  the  deserter,  as  told  above. 

As  no  time  was  to  be  lost  in  following 
out  the  plans  which  I  had  determined  upon, 
I  requested  that  I  might  have  speech  with 
Captain  Croker  that  very  night.  I  told  him 
everything  concerning  the  affair  from  be- 
ginning to  end,  adding  nothing  and  omit- 
ting nothing.  Although  so  old  and  so  well- 
tried  a  friend,  he  was  cast  into  the  utmost 
depths  of  wonder  and  amazement  at  my  au- 
dacity in  proposing  that  he  should  alter  the 
course  of  his  vessel,  and  at  my  boldness  in 
daring  to  tell  him  my  plans  for  escaping 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  197 

from  the  restraint  under  which  I  had  been 
placed.  He  questioned  me  closely  concern- 
ing many  matters:  as  to  what  led  me  to 
think  that  England  was  the  present  pos- 
sessor of  the  jewel ;  as  to  how  I  proposed  to 
proceed  after  I  had  escaped  to  the  land ;  and 
as  to  how  I  had  become  informed  of  the 
pirate's  whereabouts,  concerning  which  last 
particular  I  would  give  him  no  satisfaction. 

I  knew  not  what  he  had  in  his  mind,  nor 
where  all  these  questions  tended,  and  by- 
and-by  left  the  cabin,  though  in  a  sad  state 
of  uncertainty,  not  knowing  how  Captain 
Croker  inclined,  nor  what  might  be  his  feel- 
ings in  regard  to  me. 

Nor  was  my  uncertainty  lessened  for  sev- 
eral days,  in  which  time  I  knew  not  what  to 
think,  but  waited  for  some  sign  from  him. 
One  evening,  however,  the  whole  matter 
was  resolved  in  a  most  simple,  natural,  and 
unexpected  manner. 

At  that  time  we  were  about  seventy  or 
eighty  leagues  north  of  the  island  of  Mada- 


1 98  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

gascar.  All  the  passengers  being  at  sup- 
per, with  Captain  Croker  at  the  head  of  the 
table,  conversation  began  to  run  upon  those 
pirates  who  had  much  infested  these  waters 
of  late. 

"  Why,"  says  Captain  Croker,  "  the  pres- 
ence of  the  rascals  has  so  affected  me  that 
I  have  determined  to  alter  the  course  of  my 
vessel,  and  to  run  outside  of  Madagascar  in- 
stead of  through  the  Mozambique  Channel, 
for  it  is  well  to  have  plenty  of  sea -room 
either  to  fight  or  to  run  from  these  wicked 
rogues.  So  now,  if  the  wind  holds  good, 
seeing  we  are  such  friends  with  the  French- 
men in  these  peaceful  days,  I  purpose  stop- 
ping at  the  Mauritius  to  take  aboard  fresh 
provisions." 

Captain  Croker  did  not  look  at  me  whilst 
he  was  saying  all  this,  but  studiously  kept 
his  eyes  upon  the  plate  before  him,  and 
presently  rose  and  left  the  table. 

As  for  me,  I  sat  with  my  heart  beating 
within  my  breast  as  though  it  would  burst 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  199 

asunder,  for  I  saw  that  my  fate  was  decided 
at  last,  and  that  one  of  the  greatest  happen- 
ings in  all  of  my  life  was  soon  to  come  upon 
me. 

In  two  days,  as  Captain  Croker  had  pre- 
dicted, we  dropped  anchor  in  the  harbor  off 
Port  Louis  at  about  three  o'clock  in  the  af- 
ternoon. I  ate  but  little  supper  that  night, 
my  mind  being  so  engrossed  upon  that 
which  I  had  undertaken  to  do. 

We  lay  about  half  a  mile  from  the  shore, 
the  water  in  the  bay  being  very  calm  and 
still.  I  had  procured  four  large  calabash 
gourds,  with  which  I  had  made  shift  to  rig 
up  a  very  decent  float  or  life-preserver,  for  I 
had  need  of  some  such  aid  in  my  expedition, 
not  being  a  very  expert  swimmer. 

In  all  this  time  I  had  said  nothing  to  Cap- 
tain Croker,  nor  he  to  me ;  but  about  seven 
o'clock,  it  being  at  that  time  pretty  dark,  he 
came  to  me  where  I  stood  by  the  rail  of  the 
poop-deck. 

"  Jack,"  said  he,  in  a  low  voice,  "  are  you 


2OO  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

still  in  the  mind  for  carrying  this  thing 
through  ?" 

"  Yes,  I  am,"  I  said. 

"  To-night  ?"  says  he. 

"  To-night,"  says  I. 

"  Then  God  bless  you !"  said  he,  and  he 
gave  my  hand  a  hearty  grip.  Then  he 
turned  upon  his  heel  and  went  below,  and 
I  knew  that  my  time  for  acting  had  arrived. 

I  had  not  much  fear  of  sharks,  for  I  had 
seen  enough  of  those  cowardly  creatures  to 
know  that  they  rarely  or  never  attack  a 
swimmer  or  a  moving  man,  but  only  a  body 
floating  upon  the  water  as  though  dead; 
moreover,  at  night  they  are  asleep  or  in  deep 
water,  for  they  are  not  often  seen  upon  the 
surface  after  the  darkness  has  fairly  fallen. 

After  the  captain  left  me  I  looked  around 
and  saw  that  no  one  else  was  nigh  upon  the 
deck.  I  took  my  calabash  gourds  and  en- 
tered the  boat  that  hung  from  the  davits 
astern.  Taking  a  hint  from  Captain  Leach, 
I  had  secured  a  coil  of  line  by  which  I 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  201 

might  lower  myself  into  the  water,  for  if  I 
had  dropped  with  a  splash  I  would  have 
been  pretty  sure  to  have  been  discovered. 
Having  removed  my  shoes  and  stockings, 
which  I  wrapped  in  a  piece  of  tarpaulin, 
together  with  my  tinder-box  and  flint  and 
steel,  all  of  which  I  secured  upon  my  head, 
and  having  slipped  the  cords  which  bound 
the  calabashes  under  my  arms,  I  slid  down 
the  line  into  the  water  astern. 

Having  committed  my  life  into  the  keep- 
ing of  Providence,  I  struck  out  boldly  for  the 
shore,  being  aided  by  a  current  which  set 
towards  it,  and  directing  my  course  by  the 
lights  which  glimmered  faintly  in  the  dis- 
tance. So  I  reached  the  beach,  and  built  a 
fire,  whereby  I  dried  my  clothes.  Then,  hav- 
ing put  on  my  shoes  and  stockings,  which 
had  been  kept  pretty  dry  by  the  tarpaulin, 
I  walked  up  the  beach  in  the  direction  of 
the  scattered  row  of  houses  which,  the  moon 
having  now  risen,  stood  out  very  plain  at 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  distant. 


2O2  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

I  found  the  town  to  consist  of  a  great 
straggling  collection  of  low  one-story  build- 
ings, mostly  made  of  woven  palm-branches, 
smeared  over  with  mud  which  had  dried  in 
the  sun.  At  this  time  it  could  not  have 
been  much  less  than  nine  o'clock,  and  all 
was  dark  and  silent.  I  went  aimlessly  here 
and  there,  not  knowing  whither  to  direct 
my  steps,  until  at  last  I  caught  sight  of  a 
little  twinkle  of  light,  which  I  perceived 
came  through  a  crack  of  an  ill-hung  shutter. 
I  went  around  to  the  front  of  the  hut,  which 
seemed  larger  and  better  made  than  others 
I  had  seen.  Above  the  door  hung  an  ill- 
made  sign,  and  the  moon  shining  full  upon 
it,  I  could  plainly  see  a  rude  picture  of  a 
heart  with  a  crown  above  it,  and  under- 
neath, written  in  great  sprawling  letters, — 

"LE  CCEUR  DU  ROY." 

— From  this  I  knew  that  it  was  an  ordi- 
nary, at  which  I  was  greatly  rejoiced,  and 
also  what  suited  me  very  well  was  to  find 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

that  it  was  French,  for  I  had  no  mind  to 
fall  in  with  English  people  just  then,  and 
I  knew  enough  of  French  to  feel  pretty 
easy  with  the  lingo.  So  into  the  place  I 
stepped,  as  bold  as  brass,  and  ordered  a 
glass  of  grog  and  something  to  eat. 

There  were  perhaps  half  a  score  of  rough, 
ill-looking  fellows  gathered  around  a  dirty 
table  playing  at  cards  by  the  light  from  a 
flame  of  a  bit  of  rope's-end  stuck  in  a  cala- 
bash of  grease.  They  laid  down  their  cards 
when  I  came  in,  and  stared  at  me  in  a  very 
forbidding  fashion.  However,  I  paid  no  at- 
tention to  them,  but  sat  down  at  a  table  at 
some  little  distance,  and  by-and-by  the  land- 
lord, a  little  pot-bellied,  red-faced  French- 
man, brought  me  a  glass  of  hot  rum  and  a 
dish  of  greasy  stew  seasoned  with  garlic. 
He  would  have  entered  into  talk  with  me, 
but  I  soon  gave  him  to  understand  that  I 
had  no  appetite  for  conversation  just  at  this 
time;  so  after  having  made  a  bargain  for 
lodgings  during  the  night,  he  withdrew  to 


204  The  Rose  of  Paraised. 

a  bench  in  the  farther  corner  of  the  room, 
where  I  presently  saw  him  fall  asleep. 

If  I  had  hoped  to  escape  from  meeting 
my  own  countrymen,  I  soon  discovered  that 
I  was  to  be  sadly  disappointed,  for  before  I 
had  been  in  the  place  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
I  found  that  at  least  half  the  fellows  around 
the  table  were  Englishmen.  They  were  the 
most  villanous,  evil-looking  set  of  men  that 
I  had  beheld  in  a  long  time,  and  I  could  not 
but  feel  uneasy,  for  I  had  with  me  gold  and 
silver  money  to  the  value  of  between  ten 
and  eleven  guineas,  and  by  their  muttering 
together  and  looking  in  my  direction  now 
and  then  I  knew  that  they  were  talking  con- 
cerning me. 

Presently  one  of  the  fellows  got  up  from 
the  table  and  came  over  to  the  place  where 
I  sat. 

"  Look  'ee,  messmate,"  said  he,  seating 
himself  upon  the  corner  of  the  table  beside 
me ;  "be  ye  English,  French,  Dutch,  Portu- 
guese, or  what  ?" 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  205 

At  first  I  was  of  a  mind  to  deny  being  an 
Englishman,  but  on  second  thoughts  I  per- 
ceived that  it  would  be  useless  to  do  so, 
there  being  the  scum  of  so  many  peoples  at 
that  place  that  I  could  not  hope  to  escape 
exposure. 

"  Why,  shipmate,"  said  I, "  I'm  an  English- 
man." 

"  Where  do  ye  hail  from  ?"  said  he. 

"  Over  yonder,"  said  I,  pointing  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  Lavinia. 

"Did  ye  come  aboard  of  the  craft  that 
ran  into  the  harbor  to-day  ?" 

I  nodded  my  head. 

"  Did  ye  come  ashore  without  leave  ?" 

I  nodded  my  head  again. 

The  others  had  all  laid  down  their  cards 
and  were  looking  at  us  by  this  time,  and  I 
knew  not  what  would  have  been  the  upshot 
of  the  matter  had  not  the  door  just  then 
been  flung  open  and  a  great  rough  fellow 
come  stumping  into  the  place. 

"  Well,"  he  bawled,  in  a  loud,  hoarse  voice, 


206  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

"poor  Ned  is  on  his  way  to  h — 1  hot-foot 
to-night.  I  just  came  by  his  stew-hole  over 
yonder.  Pah !" — here  the  fellow  spat  upon 
the  floor — "  he  was  screeching  and  howling 
and  yelling  as  though  the  d — 1  was  basting 
him  already." 

"  Who's  with  him  now  ?"  says  one  of  the 
fellows  at  the  table. 

"  Who's  with  him  ?"  says  the  other,  in  a 
mightily  contemptuous  tone.  "Why,  d'ye 

think  that  anybody  would  be  such  a 

fool  as  to  stay  with  him  now,  with 

nothing  to  be  got  for  it  but  the  black  tongue 
and  a  cursing?" 

"  But  what  I  say  is  this,"  said  an  ill-look- 
ing  one-eyed  fellow :  "  he's  not  the  man  to 
serve  his  trade  for  all  these  here  years  and 
nothing  to  show  for  it.  It's  all  very  well  to 
say  that  Jack  Mackra  shot  the  hoops  off  his 
luck ;  but  you  mark  my  words,  he's  got  a 
cable  out  to  windward  somewhere,  and  he 
ain't  goin'  to  run  on  the  lee  shore  with  an 
empty  hold." 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  207 

I  was  so  amazed  to  hear  my  own  name 
spoken  that  I  knew  not  at  first  whether  to 
believe  that  which  mine  ears  had  heard  or 
whether  they  had  heard  aright.  Then  it 
was  as  though  a  sudden  light  flashed  upon 
me.  I  needed  not  the  next  speech  to  tell 
me  everything. 

"  Well,"  says  one  of  the  fellows,  "  even  if 
so  be  as  Ned  England  is  going  to  smell 
brimstone  before  this  time  to-morrow,  I  for 
one  see  no  reason  to  lose  our  game.  Come 
along,  Blake,"  he  sang  out  to  the  fellow  who 
had  been  speaking  to  me,  and  who  rejoined 
the  others  upon  being  bidden. 

I  was  in  a  great  ferment  of  spirits  at  all 
this,  for  I  perceived  very  clearly  that  Eng- 
land was  mightily  sick,  and  perhaps  dying, 
with  that  dangerous  fever  known  as  the 
"  black  tongue,"  from  which  it  is  a  rare  thing 
for  a  man  to  recover  with  his  life. 

I  observed  that  the  fellow  who  had  lately 
come  into  the  ordinary  did  not  join  in  the 
game  along  with  the  rest,  but  sat  looking 


208  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

on.  By-and-by  I  contrived  to  catch  his  eye 
as  he  glanced  in  my  direction,  whereupon  I 
beckoned  to  him,  and  he  came  over  to  the 
table  where  I  sat.  Only  a  few  words  passed 
between  us,  and  those  in  a  very  low  tone. 

"  Is  Ned  England  all  alone  ?"  said  I. 

"Yes,"  said  he. 

"  Will  you  show  me  where  he  is  ?"  said  I. 

He  shot  a  quick  look  at  me  from  under 
his  brows.  "  How  much  will  you  give  ?" 

"  A  guinea  "  said  I. 

"  I'll  do  it." 

11  When  ?" 

"  To-morrow  morning." 

That  was  all  that  passed,  and  then  he 
moved  away  and  joined  the  others  at  the 
table. 

The  next  morning  I  purchased  a  good 
large  pistol  from  mine  host,  for  I  saw  that 
with  such  companions  as  I  was  like  to  fall 
in  with  I  would  need  some  sort  of  weapon 
to  protect  myself.  Having  loaded  it  with  a 
brace  of  slugs,  I  thrust  it  in  my  belt,  and 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  209 

then  stepped  out  of  the  door,  where  I  found 
my  acquaintance  of  the  night  before  wait- 
ing for  me. 

"  Are  you  ready  ?"  said  I. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  "  I  am ;  but  I  must  see 
the  color  of  your  money  before  I  go  a  single 
step." 

"  It  is  yellow,"  said  I,  and  held  the  guinea 
out  in  the  palm  of  my  hand. 

When  he  saw  it  his  eyes  shone  like  coals 
and  his  fingers  began  to  twitch.  "  Hand  it 
over,"  says  he,  "  and  I'll  take  ye  straight." 

"  No,  no,"  said  I ;  "  avast  there,  shipmate. 
You  get  your  money  when  I  see  Captain 
Edward  England,  and  not  before." 

"  So  be  it,"  says  he.  "  Lay  your  course 
straight  ahead  yonder,  and  I'll  follow  after 
and  tell  you  how  to  go." 

I  looked  coolly  into  the  fellow's  face,  and 
could  not  help  grinning.  "  Why,"  says  I, 
"  to  tell  the  truth,  shipmate  "  (here  I  drew 
my  pistol  out  of  my  belt  and  cocked  it),  "  I 
have  no  appetite  for  a  knife  betwixt  the  ribs; 


2 TO  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

so  you'll  just  march  ahead,  and  if  you  try 
any  of  your  tricks  111  put  a  brace  of  bullets 
through  your  head  as  sure  as  you're  alive." 

The  fellow  looked  at  me  for  a  while  in  a 
puzzled  sort  of  way;  then  he  grinned,  and 
swinging  on  his  heel  strode  away,  I  follow- 
ing close  behind  him  with  the  pistol  ready 
cocked  in  my  hand.  We  went  onward  in 
this  way  for  about  half  a  mile,  until  we  came 
to  a  little  hut  that  stood  by  itself  beyond 
the  rest  of  the  town.  My  guide  stopped 
short  about  fifty  paces  away  from  the  hut. 
"  There's  where  you'll  find  Ned  England," 
said  he,  "  and  I'll  go  no  farther  for  ten 
guineas,  for  I've  no  notion  of  catching  the 
black  tongue ;  and  if  you'll  hearken  to  a 
bit  of  advice,  shipmate,  you'll  give  it  a  wide 
berth  yourself." 

I  felt  assured  the  fellow  was  telling  me 
the  truth,  so  I  paid  him  his  guinea,  and 
then  turned  away  and  left  him  standing 
where  he  was,  and  as  I  stopped  in  front 
of  the  hut  and  looked  back  I  saw  that  the 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  211 

man  was  yet  standing  in  the  very  same  spot, 
staring  after  me. 

I  may  confess  that  I  myself  was  some- 
what overcome  with  fear  of  the  dreadful  dis- 
ease, wherefore  I  stood  for  a  moment  before 
I  knocked  upon  the  door.  But  I  presently 
rallied  myself,  calling  to  mind  that  this  was 
the  only  means  of  recovering  the  Rose  of 
Paradise,  even  if  it  was  at  the  risk  of  my 
own  life ;  therefore  I  knocked  loudly  on  the 
door  with  the  butt  of  my  pistol. 

My  guide,  who  stood  still  in  the  same 
place,  called  out  to  me  that  there  was  no 
one  to  hear  my  knocking ;  so  I  pushed  open 
the  door  and  entered  the  hut. 

For  a  while  I  saw  nothing,  for  it  was  very 
dark  within.  But  I  heard  a  hoarse  and 
chattering  voice,  scarce  above  a  whisper,  cry- 
ing continually, "  Hard  a-lee  ! — hard  a-lee ! — 
hard  a-lee !" 

Presently  mine  eyes  became  accustomed 
to  the  gloom,  and  I  might  see  the  things 
around  more  clearly.  There,  in  the  corner 


2J2  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

of  the  room,  lying  upon  a  mat  of  filthy  rags, 
his  body  almost  a  skeleton,  his  bloodshot 
eyes  glaring  out  from  under  his  matted  hair, 
I  beheld  the  famous  pirate,  Captain  Edward 
England. 


XVI. 

I  MAY  truly  say  that  when  I  saw  the  dole- 
ful state  of  the  poor  wretch,  and  how  he  lay 
there  without  so  much  as  a  single  soul  to 
moisten  his  lips  or  to  give  him  a  draught  of 
cold  water,  I  forgot  mine  own  troubles  for 
the  time  being,  and  thought  only  of  his  pit- 
iable condition. 

I  sometimes  misdoubt  whether  I  should 
have  felt  grieved  for  such  a  wicked  and 
bloody  man,  who  had  for  years  done  noth- 
ing but  commit  the  most  dreadful  crimes, 
such  as  murther  and  piracy  and  the  like, 
yet  seeing  him  thus  prostrated,  lying  help- 
less, and  deserted  by  all  his  kind,  I  could 
not  help  my  bowels  being  stirred  by  com- 
passion ;  wherefore  I  thought  neither  of  the 
danger  from  his  fever,  nor  of  the  many 
grievous  injuries  which  he  had  done,  both 


214  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

to  myself  and  to  others,  but  only  of  reliev- 
ing his  present  distresses. 

My  first  consideration  was  to  make  him 
more  clean,  wherefore  I  fetched  some  water 
from  a  rivulet  which  I  had  noticed  flow  nigh 
to  that  place,  and  washed  his  hands  and  face, 
and  so  much  of  his  body  as  seemed  to  me 
fitting.  Then  I  gathered  some  fresh  palm- 
leaves,  and  covered  them  over  with  a  bit  of 
sail  which  I  found  rolled  up  in  the  back 
part  of  the  hut,  and  having  thus  made 
thereof  a  clean  and  comfortable  bed,  I 
carried  the  poor  wretch  thither  and  laid 
him  upon  it. 

As  I  had  eaten  nothing  that  morning,  I 
went  back  into  the  town  and  bought  a  lump 
of  meat  and  some  fresh  fruit,  and  then  back 
again  to  the  hut.  I  noticed  here  and  there 
some  that  stood  and  looked  after  me,  though 
they  said  nothing  to  me,  nor  molested  me 
in  any  manner.  I  afterwards  found  that  my 
guide  had  so  spread  the  news  of  my  going 
to  England's  hut  that  many  knew  it,  and 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  215 

accredited  me  with  being  a  friend  of  the 
pirate's,  and  even  a  partaker  in  his  wicked 
and  nefarious  deeds.  Whether  it  was  from 
this  or  from  fear  of  contagion  of  the  fever  I 
know  not,  but  certain  it  is  I  was  never  once 
molested  so  long  as  I  was  upon  that  island. 

When  I  returned  to  the  hut  it  seemed  to 
me  that  the  sick  man  had  less  fever  than 
when  I  left  him,  which  perhaps  happened 
from  the  refreshment  of  the  washing  that  I 
had  given  him,  though  it  might  have  been 
that  the  crisis  of  his  distemper  had  arrived, 
and  that  his  complaint  had  now  lessened  in 
its  intensity. 

Some  time  after  mid-day  I  was  sitting  be- 
side the  sick  man,  fanning  both  him  and 
myself,  for  though  the  nights  were  cool  at 
this  season  of  the  year,  the  middle  of  the 
day  was  both  exceeding  hot  and  sultry.  He 
had  ceased  in  his  incessant  and  continuous 
muttering  and  talking,  and  was  now  lying 
quite  silent,  though  breathing  short  and 
quick  with  the  fever. 


216  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

Suddenly  he  spoke.  "  Who  are  you  ?" 
said  he,  in  a  quick,  sharp  voice. 

I  thought  at  first  he  was  still  rambling  in 
his  mind,  but  when  I  looked  at  him  I  saw 
that  his  bloodshot  eyes  were  fixed  upon  me. 
I  placed  my  hand  upon  his  brow,  and 
though  still  very  hot,  I  fancied  that  the 
skin  was  not  so  dry  nor  so  hard  as  it  had 
been. 

"Who  are  you?"  said  he  again  in  the 
same  tone. 

"  There,"  said  I,  "  lie  still  and  rest.  You 
have  been  mightily  sick." 

"  Is  it  Jack  Mackra  ?"  said  he. 

"  Yes,"  said  I. 

"  And  what  do  you  do  here  ?"  said  he. 

"  I  am  come  to  care  for  you  just  now," 
said  I ;  "  but  now  rest  quietly,  for  I  will  not 
answer  one  single  question  more,  and  that 
I  promise  you." 

He  did  not  seek  to  speak  again,  but  lay 
quite  still,  as  though  meditating ;  and  pres- 
ently, as  I  sat  fanning  him,  I  saw  him  close 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  217 

his  eyes,  and  after  a  while,  by  his  deep  and 
regular  breathing,  knew  that  he  was  asleep, 
and  that  his  fever  had  turned. 

As  I  remember  all  the  circumstances  con- 
cerning these  things,  I  think  that  up  to  this 
time  I  had  given  little  if  any  thought  con- 
cerning the  treasure  of  which  I  had  been  in 
quest ;  but  now,  seeing  the  sick  man  fairly 
asleep,  and  in  what  seemed  to  me  a  fair 
way  to  mend,  my  mind  went  instantly  back 
to  it  again,  for  I  felt  well  assured  that  I 
should  find  it  or  some  signs  of  it  about  the 
place  where  I  then  was. 

It  is  not  needful  to  recount  all  the  man- 
ner in  which  I  prosecuted  my  search  for  the 
gem,  for  not  only  did  I  examine  every  scrap 
of  paper  about  the  place  in  hopes  of  finding 
some  matter  concerning  it,  but  I  sounded 
the  walls,  and  pierced  wellnigh  every  inch 
of  the  dirt  floor  with  a  sharpened  stick  of 
wood,  but  found  not  one  single  sign  of  it 
anywhere.  I  even  searched  in  the  pockets 
of  the  breeches  which  the  sick  man  wore, 


218  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

and  of  his  coat  and  waistcoat,  which  hung 
against  the  wall,  but  discovered  nothing  to 
reward  my  search — all  that  I  found  there  be- 
ing a  book  of  needles  and  thread,  a  tailor's 
thimble,  a  great  piece  of  tobacco,  such  as 
seafaring  men  always  carry  with  them,  a  ball 
of  yarn  about  half  the  bigness  of  an  orange, 
and  a  hasp-knife. 

I  cannot  tell  the  bitter  disappointment 
that  took  possession  of  me  when  my  search 
proved  to  be  of  so  little  avail ;  for  I  had  felt 
so  sure  of  finding  the  jewel  or  some  traces 
of  it,  and  had  felt  so  sure  of  being  able  to 
secure  it  again,  that  I  could  not  bear  to 
give  up  my  search,  but  continued  it  after 
every  hope  had  expired. 

When  I  was  at  last  compelled  to  ac- 
knowledge to  myself  that  I  had  failed,  I  fell 
into  a  most  unreasonable  rage  at  the  poor, 
helpless,  fever-stricken  wretch,  though  I  had 
but  just  now  been  doing  all  that  lay  in  my 
power  to  aid  him  and  to  help  him  in  his 
trouble  and  his  sickness.  "  Why  should  I 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  219 

not  leave  him 'to  rot  where  he  is?"  I  cried, 
in  my  anger;  "why  should  I  continue  to 
succor  one  who  has  done  so  much  to  injure 
me,  and  to  rob  me  of  all  usefulness  and 
honor  in  this  world?"  I  ran  out  of  the 
cabin,  and  up  and  down,  as  one  distracted, 
hardly  knowing  whither  I  went.  But  by- 
and-by  it  was  shown  me  what  was  right 
with  more  clearness,  and  that  I  should  not 
desert  the  poor  and  helpless  wretch  in  his 
hour  of  need :  wherefore  I  went  back  to  the 
hut  and  fell  to  work  making  a  broth  for  him 
against  he  should  awake,  for  I  saw  that  the 
fever  was  broken,  and  that  he  was  like  to 
get  well. 

I  did  not  give  over  my  search  for  the 
stone  in  one  day,  nor  two,  nor  three,  but 
continued  it  whenever  the  opportunity  of- 
fered and  the  pirate  was  asleep,  but  with  as 
little  success  as  at  first,  though  I  hunted 
everywhere.  As  for  Captain  England  him- 
self, he  began  to  mend  from  the  very  day 
upon  which  I  came,  for  he  awoke  from  his 


22O  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

first  sleep  with  his  fever  nigh  gone,  and  all 
the  madness  cleared  away  from  his  head ; 
but  he  never  once,  for  a  long  while,  spoke 
of  the  strangeness  of  my  caring  for  him  in 
his  sickness,  nor  how  I  came  to  be  there, 
nor  of  my  reasons  for  coming.  Neverthe- 
less, from  where  he  lay  he  followed  me  with 
his  eyes  in  all  my  motions  whenever  I  was 
moving  about  the  hut 

One  day,  however,  after  I  had  been  there 
a  little  over  a  week,  against  which  time  he 
was  able  to  lie  in  a  rude  hammock,  which  I 
had  slung  up  in  front  of  the  door,  he  asked 
me  of  a  sudden  if  any  of  his  cronies  had 
lent  a  hand  at  nursing  him  when  he  was 
sick,  and  I  told  him  no. 

"And  how  came  you  to  undertake  it?" 
says  he. 

"  Why,"  said  I,  "  I  was  here  on  business, 
and  found  you  lying  nigh  dead  in  this 
place." 

He  looked  at  me  for  a  little  while  in  a 
mightily  strange  way,  and  then  suddenly 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  221 

burst  into  a  great  loud  laugh.  After  that 
he  lay  still  for  a  while,  watching  me,  but 
presently  he  spoke  again. 

"And  did  you  find  it?"  says  he. 

"Find  what?"  I  asked,  after  a  bit,  for  I 
was  struck  all  aback  by  the  question,  and 
could  not  at  first  find  one  word  to  say.  But 
he  only  burst  out  laughing  again.  "  Why," 
says  he,  "  you  psalm-singing,  Bible-reading, 
straitlaced  Puritan  skippers  are  as  keen  as 
a  sail-needle ;  you'll  come  prying  about  in 
a  man's  house  looking  for  what  you  would 
like  to  find,  and  all  under  pretence  of  doing 
an  act  of  humanity,  but  after  all  you  find 
an  honest  devil  of  a  pirate  is  a  match  for 
you." 

I  made  no  answer  to  this,  but  my  heart 
sank  within  me ;  for  I  perceived,  what  I 
might  have  known  before,  that  he  had  ob- 
served the  object  of  my  coming  thither. 

He  soon  became  strong  enough  to  move 
about  the  place  a  little,  and  from  that  time 
I  noticed  a  great  change  in  him,  and  that 


222  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

he  seemed  to  regard  me  in  a  very  evil  way. 
One  evening  when  I  came  into  the  hut,  af- 
ter an  absence  in  the  town,  I  saw  that  he 
had  taken  down  one  of  his  pistols  from  the 
wall,  and  was  loading  it  and  picking  the 
flint.  He  kept  that  pistol  by  him  for  a 
couple  of  days,  and  was  forever  fingering  it, 
cocking  it,  and  then  lowering  the  hammer 
again. 

I  do  not  know  why  he  did  not  shoot  me 
through  the  brains  at  this  time ;  for  I  verily 
believe  that  he  had  it  upon  his  mind  to  do 
so,  and  that  more  than  once.  And  now,  in 
looking  back  upon  the  business,  it  appears 
to  me  to  be  little  less  than  a  miracle  that  I 
came  forth  from  this  adventure  with  my  life. 
Yet  had  I  certainly  known  that  death  was 
waiting  upon  me,  I  doubt  that  I  should 
have  left  that  place ;  for  in  truth,  now  that  I 
had  escaped  from  the  Lavinia,  as  above  nar- 
rated, I  had  nowhere  else  to  go,  nor  could  I 
ever  show  my  face  in  England  or  amongst 
my  own  people  again. 


The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

Thus  matters  stood  until  one  morning 
the  whole  business  came  to  an  end  so  sud- 
denly and  so  unexpectedly  that  for  a  long 
while  I  felt  as  though  all  might  be  a  dream, 
from  which  I  should  soon  awake. 

We  were  sitting  together  silently,  he  in  a 
very  moody  and  bitter  humor.  He  had  his 
pistol  lying  across  his  knees,  as  he  used  to 
do  at  that  time. 

Suddenly  he  turned  to  me  as  though  in  a 
fit  of  rage.  "  Why  do  you  stay  about  this 
accursed  fever  hole?"  cried  he;  "what  do 
you  want  here,  with  your  saintly  face  and 
your  godly  airs  ?" 

"  I  stay  here,"  said  I,  bitterly,  "  because  I 
have  nowhere  else  to  go." 

"  And  what  do  you  want  ?"  said  he. 

"  That  you  know,"  said  I,  "  as  well  as  I 
myself." 

"And  do  you  think,"  said  he,  "that  I  will 
give  it  to  you  ?" 

"  No,"  said  I,  "  that  I  do  not." 

"  Look  'ee,  Jack  Mackra,"  said  he,  very 


224  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

slowly,  "you  are  the  only  man  hereabouts 
who  knows  anything  of  that  red  pebble" 
(here  he  raised  his  pistol  and  aimed  it  di- 
rectly at  my  bosom);  "why  shouldn't  I  shoot 
you  down  like  a  dog,  and  be  done  with  you 
forever  ?  I've  shot  many  a  better  man  than 
you  for  less  than  this." 

I  felt  every  nerve  thrill  as  I  beheld  the 
pistol  set  against  my  breast,  and  his  cruel, 
wicked  eyes  behind  the  barrel ;  but  I  steeled 
myself  to  stand  steadily  and  to  face  it. 

"You  may  shoot  if  you  choose,  Edward 
England,"  said  I,  "  for  I  have  nothing  more 
to  live  for.  I  have  lost  my  honor  and  all 
except  my  life  through  you,  and  you  might 
as  well  take  that  as  the  rest." 

He  withdrew  the  pistol,  and  sat  regard- 
ing me  for  a  while  with  a  most  baleful  look, 
and  for  a  time  I  do  believe  that  my  life 
hung  in  the  balance  with  the  weight  of  a 
feather  to  move  it  either  way.  Suddenly 
he  thrust  his  hand  into  his  bosom  and  drew 
forth  the  ball  of  yarn  which  I  had  observed 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  225 

amongst  other  things  in  his  pocket.  He 
flung  it  at  me  with  all  his  might,  with  a 
great  cry  as  though  of  rage  and  of  anguish. 
"  Take  it,"  he  roared,  "  and  may  the  devil 
go  with  you !  And  now  away  from  here, 
and  be  quick  about  it,  or  I  will  put  a  bullet 
through  your  head  even  yet." 

I  knew  as  quick  as  lightning  what  it  was 
that  was  wrapped  in  the  ball  of  yarn,  and 
leaping  forward  I  snatched  it  up  and  ran  as 
fast  as  I  was  able  away  from  that  place.  I 
heard  another  roar,  and  at  the  same  time 
the  shot  of  a  pistol  and  the  whiz  of  a  bullet, 
and  my  hat  went  spinning  off  before  me  as 
though  twitched  from  off  my  head.  I  did 
not  tarry  to  pick  it  up,  but  ran  on  without 
stopping :  but  even  yet,  to  this  day,  I  can- 
not tell  whether  Edward  England  missed 
me  through  purpose  or  through  the  trem- 
bling of  weakness ;  for  he  was  a  dead-shot, 
and  I  myself  once  saw  him  snap  the  stem 
of  a  wineglass  with  a  pistol  bullet  at  an  or- 
dinary in  Jamaica. 
15 


226  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

As  for  me,  the  whole  thing  had  happened 
so  quickly  and  so  unexpectedly  that  I  had 
no  time  either  for  joy  or  exultation,  but  con- 
tinued to  run  on  bareheaded  as  though  be- 
reft of  my  wits;  for  I  knew  I  held  in  my 
hand  not  only  the  great  ruby,  but  also  my 
honor  and  all  that  was  dear  to  me  in  my 
life. 

But  although  England  had  so  freely  given 
me  the  stone,  I  knew  that  I  must  remain  in 
that  place  no  longer.  I  still  had  between 
five  and  six  guineas  left  of  the  money 
which  I  had  brought  ashore  with  me  when 
I  left  the  Lavinia.  With  this  I  hired  a 
French  fisherman  to  transport  me  to  Mad- 
agascar, where  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  work 
my  passage  either  to  Europe  or  back  to  the 
East  Indies. 

As  fortune  would  have  it,  we  fell  in  with 
an  English  bark,  the  Kensington,  bound  for 
Calcut,  off  the  north  coast  of  that  land,  and 
I  secured  a  berth  aboard  of  her,  shipping  as 
an  ordinary  seaman ;  for  I  had  no  mind  to 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  227 

tell  my  name,  and  so  be  forced  to  disclose 
the  secret  of  the  great  treasure  which  I  had 
with  me.  After  arriving  at  Calcut  I  was 
fortunate  enough  to  be  able  to  find  a  vessel 
ready  to  sail  for  Bombay,  whereon  I  secured 
a  berth,  and  so  arrived  safe  at  that  place 
about  the  middle  of  March. 

I  had  unrolled  the  ball  of  yarn  and  looked 
at  the  stone  so  soon  as  I  had  been  able  to 
do  so  after  getting  it  into  my  possession. 
Then,  finding  that  it  was  safe  and  unhurt, 
as  I  had  seen  it  last,  I  had  rolled  it  up  again, 
for  I  could  perceive  that  there  was  no  better 
hiding-place  for  it  than  the  one  the  cunning 
pirate  had  provided.  So  for  all  this  last 
voyage  I  had  carried  a  fortune  of  three 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  in  my 
pocket,  wrapped  up  in  a  ball  of  yarn. 

It  was  early  in  the  morning  when  we  ar- 
rived at  Bombay,  and  so  soon  as  I  was  able 
I  disclosed  my  name  and  condition  to  the 
captain  under  whom  I  had  sailed,  and  con- 


228  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

trived  to  impress  him  with  the  importance 
of  my  commission,  without  disclosing  any- 
thing to  him  in  regard  to  the  stone.  He 
was  very  complacent  to  me,  and  would  have 
had  me  dress  myself  in  a  more  fitting  man- 
ner, and  in  some  of  his  own  clothes,  for  I 
was  clad  no  better  than  the  other  seamen 
with  whom  I  had  consociated  for  all  this 
time;  but  I  was  too  impatient  to  delay  my 
going  ashore  for  one  moment  longer  than 
was  needful,  so  he  kindly  sent  me  off  with- 
out any  further  stay. 

I  went  straight  to  the  Residency,  and 
though  the  attendants  would  have  stayed 
me,  I  so  insisted,  both  with  words  and  with 
force,  that  they  were  constrained  to  show 
me  directly  into  the  presence  of  the  Gov- 
ernor. 

I  found  him  seated  with  Mistress  Pamela 
at  breakfast,  beneath  the  shade  of  a  wide 
veranda  overlooking  a  beautiful  and  luxuri- 
ant garden.  The  Governor  arose  as  I  came 
forward,  looking  very  much  surprised  at  my 


TIu  Rose  of  Paradise.  229 

boldness  in  so  forcing  my  presence  upon 
his  privacy.     As  for  Mistress  Pamela,  I  be- 
held her  eyes  grow  wide  and  her  face  as 
white  as  marble,  and  thereby  knew  that  she" 
had  recognized  me  upon  the  instant. 

I  came  direct  to  the  table,  and  drawing 
forth  the  jewel,  still  wrapped  in  the  yarn 
(for  my  agitation  had  been  so  great  that  I 
had  not  thought  to  unroll  the  covering  from 
the  stone),  I  laid  it  upon  the  table,  with  my 
hands  trembling  as  though  with  an  ague. 

"  What  does  all  this  mean  ?"  cried  the 
Governor.  "Who  are  you,  and  what  do 
you  want  ?"  For  I  was  mightily  changed 
in  my  appearance  by  the  rough  life  through 
which  I  had  passed,  and  he  did  not  recog- 
nize me. 

But  I  only  pointed  to  the  ball  of  yarn. 
"  Open  it,"  I  cried ;  "  for  God's  sake,  open 
it!" 

I  saw  a  sudden  light  come  into  Mistress 
Pamela's  eyes.  She  clasped  her  hands,  and 
repeated  after  me,  "  Open  it,  open  it !" 


2jo  The  Rose  of  Paradise. 

The  Governor  himself  seemed  to  be  im- 
pressed by  our  emotion ;  for,  instead  of  trou- 
bling himself  to  unwind  the  yarn,  he  snatch- 
ed up  a  bread -knife  and  cut  through  the 
strands,  so  that  they  fell  apart,  and  the  jewel 
rolled  out  upon  the  white  linen  table-cover. 

The  Governor  gazed  upon  it  as  though 
thunderstruck.  Presently  he  slowly  raised 
his  eyes  and  looked  at  me.  "  What  is  this  ?" 
said  he. 

In  the  mean  time  I  had  somewhat  recov- 
ered from  my  excessive  emotion.  "Sir," 
said  I,  "  it  is  the  Rose  of  Paradise." 

"And  you?" 

"  I  am  Captain  John  Mackra." 

The  Governor  grasped  my  hand,  and 
shook  it  most  warmly.  "  Sir,"  said  he, "  Cap- 
tain Mackra,  I  am  vastly  delighted  to  find 
you  such  a  man  as  my  niece  has  always 
maintained  you  to  be.  The  little  rebel  has 
led  me  a  most  disturbed  and  disquieted  life 
ever  since  I  was  constrained  to  order  you 
back  to  England  under  restraint.  I  now 


The  Rose  of  Paradise.  231 

leave  you  a  captive  in  her  hands,  trusting 
to  her  to  give  you  a  famous  dish  of  tea, 
whilst  I  go  and  consign  this  great  treasure 
to  some  place  of  safe-keeping.  I  shall  soon 
return,  for  I  am  most  impatient  to  hear  your 
narrative  of  those  events  which  led  to  the 
recovery  of  this  stone." 

So  saying,  he  turned  and  left  us,  bearing 
the  Rose  of  Paradise  with  him,  and  I  sat 
down  to  a  dish  of  tea  with  Mistress  Pamela. 

When  the  Governor  returned  he  had  first 
to  listen  to  other  matters  than  those  con- 
cerning the  Rose  of  Paradise ;  for,  with  his 
consent,  Pamela  Boon  had  promised  to  be 
my  wife. 


THE    END. 


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